Ghana to receive 150 American Peace Corps in September

The United States (U S) Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Stephanie Sullivan, has hinted that 150 American Peace Corps will arrive in Ghana in September this year to support the nation’s development and transformation agenda.

She explained that most of the Peace Corps would be focusing on the teaching and development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Ms Stephanie Sullivan announced this when she paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, in Accra on Tuesday.

The visit was to deepen the ties between the two countries which date back to several decades.

She lauded the Ghana government for its effort towards poverty reduction through education.

The Ambassador stated that the U S was currently assisting the country in various forms through the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) being the main implementer of many of such projects.

She mentioned the Early Grade Reading for pupils in Basic Schools which targeted more than 250,000 pupils in the country and the Ghana Learning Radio programme as some of the projects.

Ms Sullivan pledged U S government’s readiness to partner the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service and all other agencies to help improve lives of the people in the country.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, on his part, lauded the U S for its unflinching support to Ghana over the years which had brought much development to the nation.

He assured the Ambassador that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government would continue to do more to ensure that both countries benefitted from their relationship.

Dr Adutwum said, “let us be proud that someday we will be able to tell the world that we were part of the transformation of the country through education”.

He stated that the government would continue to put in place measures that stood the chance of transforming the fortunes of the country.

Dr Adutwum mentioned the introduction of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy, for instance, which had led to increased enrollment of 800,000 to 1.2 million students in the country’s Senior High Schools.

He mentioned increased access, equity and easing the burden of parents whether they had money or not as being the main reasons why the FSHS initiative was introduced in the country.

Ghana became the first country in the world to receive American Peace Corps Volunteers in 1961 and the programme has been running uninterrupted.

Most of the Peace Corps Volunteers who came to the country in the past were posted to support the health, agriculture and education sectors among others.

The Education Minister and the Ambassador exchanged gifts as a sign of appreciation of each other's roles as worthy representatives of their countries.