Donor Partners should not determine Africa’s educational path – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the African continent is so endowed with both natural and human resources that it must not allow her donor agencies to determine how much resources should be spent on educating her citizens.

He therefore asked African leaders to set their priorities right as the continent seeks to make giant strides in the world economic order, reports ABC News‘ Gordon Asare-Bediako from New Jersey.

“The provision of education for our young people should not become an ideological issue. We should never have to make a choice between basic education or higher education. We should never have to rely on the World Bank or any other institution to decide for us where the emphasis should be for us in our education needs,” President Akufo-Addo said.

The President in an address to students and staff and a section of Ghanaians at the Princeton University in the United States on Friday, President Akufo-Addo justified his conviction that “the future is Africa”.

Speaking on the theme “The future is Africa: Translating vision into action”, the President also used the occasion to espouse the importance of education and how to fund it.

“Education is the key to our development and we must run our economies to fund the education of our children. We should not get into arguments with the so-called donor agencies about priorities. We have to set our own priorities and accept that we have to provide the funds to translate our plans into reality,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo is leading Ghana’s delegation to the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and his presence in Princeton was at the invitation of the President of Princeton University.

The President is also expected to deliver a public address at the invitation of Mr. Robert Barchi at the Achebe Leadership Forum on Saturday, September 21.

While in the States, President Akufo-Addo, as co-Chair of the Advocacy Group of Eminent Persons for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will also participate in a series of SDG events.

The President will also participate in, and deliver remarks at an event to be hosted by the US Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), celebrating the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and participate in a series of UN related side meetings.

The President will address the UN General Assembly on 25th September, 2019, and, thereafter, engage in another round of UN Meetings.

He is being accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo; Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, MP; Minister for Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta; Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen; Minister for Planning, Hon. Prof. Gyan Baffuor; and officials from the Presidency and Foreign Ministry.