Dennis Miracles Aboagye, an Aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has launched a fierce political counter-attack against the current administration, defending both the legacy of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy and the Zipline medical drone contract.
Aboagye dismissed attempts to attribute the mass failure in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to the Free SHS policy as “unintelligent,” and called on President John Mahama to reject political pressure to terminate the Zipline agreement.
The former Vice President’s aide argued that education stakeholders must abandon political rhetoric and focus on identifying the technical and academic issues behind the poor outcomes in Core Mathematics and Social Studies.
“Anybody who says that Free SHS is the reason for these failures is not being intelligent. It is an ill-informed comment and does not hold water. We need to stop politicising this issue and get serious with tracing the root cause”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Aide to Former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Aboagye maintained that the Free SHS policy has no correlation with the academic decline because its effect is purely financial. According to him, the instructional methods, teaching quality, and academic structures within the schools remain the same as they were before the policy’s implementation.
The only significant change, he argued, is that students no longer pay school fees.
His call for technical focus comes as the 2025 WASSCE recorded one of the steepest drops in recent years. The overall pass rate stood at a sobering 48.73%, leaving over half of the candidates unqualified for tertiary admissions.
With passes (A1-C6) in Core Mathematics plummeting by more than 96,000, falling from 305,132 in 2024 to 209,068 in 2025, Miracles Aboagye urged stakeholders to use the alarming statistics not for political point-scoring, but as a roadmap for genuine reform.
“Let us identify, technically, what caused the poor performance in these two subjects and find a solution. Let us identify, technically, what contributed to the poor performance and work towards fixing it”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Aide to Former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Rejecting ‘Propaganda’ on Zipline
Aboagye’s defense extended strongly to the Zipline contract, a project launched under the previous government administration, which is currently under heavy scrutiny by the Health Minister Hon. Mintah Akandoh and the Majority Leader, Hon. Mahama Ayriga.
He issued a direct, public plea to President John Dramani Mahama to reject the advice of his own party officials and the Health Minister regarding Zipline termination, warning that the termination calls are fueled by political motives and ignorance.
“Mr President – do not endanger the life of citizens, do not risk it because of propaganda, because of politics, and probably because of procurement interest,” he warned.
The Majority Leader in parliament called for the cancellation of the Zipline contract, describing the drone service as a waste of resources – a position supported by the Health Minister, who confirmed that Zipline was delivering non-essential items.
However, Aboagye maintained that those calling for termination lack a basic understanding of Zipline’s essential mandate and impact, suggesting they believe the service is merely a substitute for the lack of available drugs.
He stressed that Zipline provides an essential and valuable service, and risking its termination based on political motives or financial interests would directly endanger citizens’ lives, especially in critical times.
Aboagye concluded that the conversation around Zipline must move away from “propaganda” and focus on the company’s real-world impact and value in providing essential services across the country.
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