Member of Parliament for Old Tafo Vincent Assafuah has showered plaudits on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for introduction of the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.
According to him, the Free SHS initiative is single-handedly the biggest and most revolutionary social policy intervention by any government in the 4th Republican Democracy as attested to by the December 2020 presidential election.
The programme, he said, has the potential to redefine basic education from Kindergarten to include SHS, vocational, agricultural as well as technical schools and the possibility of granting access to millions of children.
The MP, in a statement to commemorate International Day of Education, highlighted the importance of education to the future of Ghana and its citizens.
He stated it is for good reasons that the United Nation recognizes education as a human right, a public good and a public responsibility.
According to him, despite this need for education there are many challenges that need to be addressed to enhance the experience of education for Ghanaian children.
He admitted there are still parents who are grappling with the choice of whether their kids should work on farms or go to school while there are still teachers whose compensation falls far below the efforts they exert in discharging their duties.
Mr Assafuah stated that though the Ghanaian education story is not all gloomy, the implementation of the free universal education by the President has charted a new course for which reason the world has been quick to applaud him for his commitment
Education, he said, is also about possibilities, potentials and commitment to revive the lots of teachers by converting Teacher Training Colleges into Degree awarding institutions and making sure allowances due teacher trainees are paid.
He said, “It has very much to do with the potential benefits of over 1,011 projects initiated to expand access in senior high schools and the effort to revamp the learning of critical subjects such as Maths and Science by constructing 20 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) centres across the country as well as the first Creative Arts school at the Senior High School level.”
“It is about the possibility of reforming the curricular to ensure that children educated here in Ghana can compete with children anywhere in the world and improving quality at the basic education level,” he said.
“I would like to use this occasion, Mr. Speaker, to celebrate His Excellency the President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo for his sterling vision on education,” he added.
Hon. Assafuah also acknowledged the efforts of ministers who have headed the education ministry both present and past as the state continues to navigate the raging waters of learning and the impact of knowledge, even in a pandemic.
