Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) across the country are convinced that Ghana’s education is on the path of progress and transformation with the level of investments made in the sector since 2017.

They are also certain that the sector is in capable hands under the leadership of Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum who is changing the mindset of stakeholders to embrace 21st century education as a tool for accelerated development.

The MMDCEs expressed these sentiments after a comprehensive presentation by the Minister on the progress made in the education sector since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) resumed office seven years ago.

The goal was to equip the representatives of the President at the local level with the achievements of the Government in education to enable them tell the success stories and also explain the innovative policies being pursued by the Ministry to improve education in Ghana.

The Minister’s presentation touched on investments made at all levels of the educational structure,
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as well as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.

With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, Dr. Adutwum walked the MMDCEs through what the Ministry had been doing across the country with pictorial and video evidence to bring them up to speed with the paradigm shift in the sector.

To demonstrate how learning outcomes under the current administration had significantly improved at both basic and second cycle levels, he showed the participants both figures and statistics which put the NPP miles ahead of its predecessors.

He also spoke about deliberate policy interventions which targets holistic training of students to be relevant in the global community as the world shift towards the fourth industrial revolution.

The MMDCEs who were obviously amazed by the massive achievements and the vision to transform education in the country, applauded the Minister and his team for a great job done.

Some of them who spoke to the media a
fter the engagement attested to the fact that despite being part of the government, they were not privy to a lot of the information shared by the Minister.

They said much as they were aware of the strides being made by the Government in the education sector, the engagement with the Minister had made them appreciate the direction where Ghana was heading even better.

‘I am overwhelmed by what the Minister and his team has been doing at the Ministry having listened to the presentation he made,’ Mr. Francis Oti Boateng, the District Chief Executive for Asante-Akim North, stated.

He said STEM education was one of the brilliant policies ever introduced in Ghana by any government and urged Ghanaians to embrace it to change the face of education in the country.

‘Our quest to break the eight largely depends on the work of people like Dr. Adutwum and so if we really want to achieve that target, he should be considered for the running mate slot,’ Mr. Eric Tetteh, Municipal Chief Executive for Yilo Krobo, submitted.

D
r. Adutwum said the engagement was to keep the MMDCEs updated with what the Government had accomplished in the education sector as key actors who directly deal with citizens at the local level.

‘In as much as with think they know what is going on, it also important to bring them together and show them what the Government has done elsewhere so they appreciate the development beyond their jurisdictions,’ the Minister explained.

He said in addition to creating access and equity for Ghanaian children, the Ministry was also working towards the creation of more high performing schools to eliminate the phenomenon where every parent wants their wards to attend certain schools.

‘We are affiliating new schools with existing high performing schools and our goal is to make sure that high performing schools will be able to mentor the new schools so that in no time, they will also become high performing schools.

The Minister used the opportunity to clarify that it was only the new buildings being put up with new design
s that were being painted blue and white to make them stand out, and not all public schools as being circulated in the media.

Agencies under the Ministry as part of the engagement took turns to present their activities.

Source: Ghana News Agency