The Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has labeled President Akuffo-Addo as a promise keeper whose policies are transforming Ghana’s education sector.
According to him, the President promised to take Ghanaians away from the era when access to secondary education was a luxury and he has redeemed the promise with the implementation of the Free Senior High School Policy.
The Minister, who was addressing the 6th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Kumasi said the days when dining hall masters turned away students from dining halls because of school fees are no more.
Some of the students, he emphasized, went home and never returned to school because their parents were too poor to pay the fees of their wards.
The conference which is being held under the theme, “GNAT@90: Surviving as a Reliable and Vibrant Teacher Union in the 21st Century,’’ is the climax of the 90th-anniversary celebration of the Association.
Delegates from all the 16 regions attended the Conference which is expected to elect new national officers for the next quadrennial.
“The promise keeper President promised to fix the problem and he kept his promise. So today, teachers have a wonderful opportunity to teach their students in the first week of re-opening of schools,” the Minister emphasised.
He added, the president has also redeemed his promise to make Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) part of the mainstream educational system.
“For the first time in the history of this nation, students of the National Vocational Training Institutes (NVTI) would be part of the Free Senior High School Policy,” he stated.
In addition, Technical Universities are also being provided engineering blocks with state-of-the-art equipment to promote the study of engineering in the country.
Dr. Adutwum also pointed out that the president of the republic is spearheading the introduction of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education so that Ghana can compete with the rest of the world.
The determination of the President, he told the conference, is to promote quality education and give hope that Ghana can be transformed through education. He called on all Ghanaians to support his administration in the implementation of all the transformative initiatives.