Former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) UK Branch, Mr. Hayford Atta-Krufi, has disclosed that the idea behind Ghana’s Free Education policy was first conceived by NPP members in the United Kingdom during his tenure as branch chairman.
According to Mr. Atta-Krufi, the concept was developed by a group of committed party members in the diaspora who were deeply concerned about access to education, inequality, and the financial burden on Ghanaian families. He noted that these concerns were frequently raised by Ghanaians abroad who maintained strong ties with developments back home.
He revealed that he personally presented a concept paper on Free Education to then-presidential aspirant Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during one of his visits to the United Kingdom, several years before the policy became a central component of the NPP’s national agenda.
Mr. Atta-Krufi explained that the proposal was well received and later underwent further development and refinement within the party, eventually emerging as the flagship Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy after the NPP won political power.
Since its implementation, the Free SHS programme has significantly expanded access to secondary education, benefiting millions of Ghanaian students and removing financial barriers that previously limited enrollment.
The former NPP-UK Chairman said his account highlights the important role played by the diaspora in shaping national policies, stressing that diaspora engagement extends beyond political campaigning to include policy innovation and contributions to national development.
He added that the involvement of NPP-UK members in the early conceptualization of Free Education represents a significant but often overlooked chapter in the history of one of Ghana’s most transformative social interventions.
