Supreme Court dismisses PPP suit

The PPP had posited that successive governments had between January 1993 and January 2005 failed to complete the roll-out of the FCUBE as stipulated by the 1992 Constitution.

It said the governments had also failed to enforce the compulsory aspect of the FCUBE, resulting in children of school age loitering during school hours.

It, therefore, prayed the court to direct the government to take steps to ensure that all children of school age were made to benefit from the policy.

Dismissal

But in a unanimous decision, the seven-member court, presided over by Mr Justice Julius Ansah, said: “We have heard arguments by counsel for and against the matter before us and we dismiss the action”.

The court would give its reasons on July 28, 2015.

Some vested parties in the case, as well as scores of journalists, who had readied their pens and notebooks for the usual long and winding judgement of the court, were sharply disappointed when Mr Justice Ansah read the terse statement in less than 30 seconds.

Disappointment

The Leader and Founder of the PPP, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, who was clearly disappointed by the judgement, told the media that the party would come out with its official response on the judgement.

“Our stance was that we wanted to demonstrate to Ghanaians that we are not just a political party sitting there and waiting for elections. There are some who are election-focused. There are others who want to help shape policy and help improve this nation,” he said.

He said education was a big issue in Ghana, especially following what the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had disclosed in rating the country as one of the least performers in the list of countries with regard to education achievement.

Asked whether the party would seek a judicial review, he said it was premature since the reasons for the dismissal of the case had not yet been given.