Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has described how his education at St. Augustine's College was nearly cut short due to poverty when he was in senior high school. According to him, if it hadn't been for the assistance provided by Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, he would have dropped out of school, which is why Ghanaians should appreciate the Akufo Addo government's introduction of free SHS.Speaking during the 2023 SONA debate in parliament on March 9, 2023, he stated that despite the country's current economic hardship, Akufo-Addo should commend Free SHS because the social intervention program is still running successfully."Many people who would not have been able to attend secondary school otherwise have benefited from free SHS.
"Mr. Speaker, I use myself as an example of how I struggled at St. Augustine's College, and without the bursary introduced by Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, I would not have finished St. Augustine's College to serve of Afutu, and I know that thousands of Ghanaians who could not benefit from secondary education as a result of poverty. "So, Mr Speaker, if today's chorus is that government has spent so much, what Mr President is telling Ghanaians is that we have introduced a major social invention program that, despite the challenges we face as a country, we are still successfully implementing."The debate began after President Akufo-Addo appeared before parliament to deliver the State of the Nation Address, as required by Article 67 of Ghana's 1992 Constitution.SONA is a constitutional requirement and annual tradition in which the Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces reports on the state of the country, unveils the government's agenda for the coming year, and proposes legislative measures to Parliament.
Members of Parliament (MPs), the Speaker of Parliament, and the Judiciary are required by Ghana's 1992 Constitution to receive the President's SONA.
