The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has attacked the decision by the government to allot funding for senior high school pupils to get free tablets, calling it a vote-buying ploy.

During a special public lecture at Wisconsin International University College in Ghana, Mahama expressed his worries and emphasized how the government’s concentration on tablet distribution has resulted in the abandonment of important ongoing educational projects.

The former president emphasized how crucial it is to give the distribution of state funds first priority in order to solve the more urgent requirements in the field of education.

“You bring a new curriculum, the children have no textbooks in basic school for the last four years and you think that giving pre-tertiary students tablets is more important. Of course, everybody knows the political expediency.

“The pre-tertiary students are going to register in May because some of them will be turning 18 years and above, some are 18 already and they are going to be the ones voting. So this is a gift to entice them to vote for the current government.

“Otherwise, if you are using GH¢1.3 billion to give pre-tertiary students laptops, our priority would have been different. Other things are begging for funding in our educational system than those laptops. But it is a bribe for them to vote for this government.”