Deputy Minister for Education and MP for Assin South Rev John Ntim Fordjour has stated that Education is the surest way of eradicating poverty.
He stated this when he delivered a message to students and pupils, he interacted with during his two-day tour of selected schools in Assin South Constituency where he made donations to facilitate teaching and learning.
Some of the selected schools who benefited from the Deputy Minister’s donation of Pianos and stationery include Assin Manso SHS, which happens to be Mr Ntim Fordjour’s alma mater, Assin Amoabin DA Primary and Assin Asamankese DA JHS.
The Deputy Minister for Education urged pupils and students to commit to improved learning outcomes and become innovative in their studies so as to be empowered above the limitations of poverty which is the bane of all underserved communities.
He said Government is committed to ensuring the reading and writing proficiency of every school going Ghanaian child by the age of t10 years.
To this end, it will put in place the conducive learning environment and the necessary interventions to guarantee this outcome.
At Assin Asamankese D/A Basic School Rev. Fordjour donated exercise books, sets of crayons, pencil packs, veronica buckets, handwashing soap and a digital piano to aid teaching and learning.
He told the pupils that one of the interventions, spearheaded by the Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, was the introduction of the National Standardized Test (NST).
Rev. Fordjour indicated that the NST is aimed not only at seeking to improve learning outcomes but also reduce learning poverty across the country.
The Deputy Minister stated that all primary four students in Ghana will be the first batch to sit for this test, adding that it will also give government the opportunity to assess the challenges inherent at the basic level so as to undertake the remedial actions when the pupils are in class five.
He appealed to the chiefs, parents, guardians, and the general public to give the government their full backing to implement solid policies and programmes for the betterment of the country.
“Children are the future of the country, and nothing should hinder them from achieving their dreams. There are, among them, those with exceptional talents and skills, gifted and talented kids and they need to be guided and mentored appropriately”, the Deputy Minister said.
On behalf of the Assin Asamankese D/A Basic School, the Headmaster, Mr. Seth Adjei thanked the Deputy Minister for the items and promised to put them to good use.
Present were some traditional rulers, the representative of the District Director of Education, Mr. Alex Adjei, and Officials of the Ministry of Education.
