Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said here Thursday that expanding access to basic and secondary education would be the top priority of his government if he is reelected.

Maham, who is also presidential candidate of ruling National Democracy Congress (NDC), promised that the government would build 200 new secondary schools over the next three years, while expanding the training of teachers with 10 new teacher training colleges.

Addressing party supporters in the Volta regional capital of Ho, 137 km north east of the country's capital, to launch the manifesto of NDC for the December elections, Mahama said his party 's promise is backed by a solid track record of past achievements in educational development.

He pledged to remove all indirect charges placed on parents to make basic education completely free by 2016.

Mahama also promised that specialized kindergarten teachers will be trained to replace current untrained nursery school teachers.

He paid tribute to former president and NDC founder Jerry John Rawlings, under whose leadership modern educational infrastructure was developed to the current level.

Nine out of the country's 10 polytechnics, three out of the six public universities, and the Ghana Educational Trust Fund were all established during Rawlings' 19-year rule.

Referring to NDC's 2008 election manifesto of building two more public universities, Mahama announced to the cheering crowd that the two universities, in the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions, were admitting fresh students for the 2012/2013 academic year.

He also said the affiliation of all polytechnics with existing universities would be expanded so they would start awarding degrees in the short-term, while in the long-term the polytechnics would be upgraded into technical universities rather than turning into universities of social sciences.

Mahama threw a challenge to his detractors accusing him of corruption to take him to the bodies mandated to investigate such matters, saying "I am prepared to defend myself before such institutions."

The NDC is the last of the major parties to have launched its manifesto. It had planned its manifesto launch to coincide with that of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in August, but the event was postponed following the death of former President John Evans Atta Mills.

NPP's presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo said an-NPP administration would restructure the Ghanaian economy, emphasizing the role of the Ghanaian private sector, both formal and informal indigenous enterprises.

The NDC manifesto was based on the four thematic areas, namely Investing in people; Transparent and Accountable Governance; Strong and Resilient Economy; and Accelerated Infrastructure Development.