Govt has made strides in educational sector - Education Minister

Government has made education a top priority by providing the requisite tools to enhance teaching and learning since taking over office in 2016, Dr Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, the Minister of Education said.

Dr Opoku-Prempeh said government was poised to give a level playing field to all Ghanaian children, and as such the President Akufo-Addo had charged all appointees to deliver on the promise made to Ghanaians.

The Minister said this on Thursday when government presented 100 33-seater County Deluxe buses to Senior High Schools in the Northern sector to facilitate their operations.

Government through the Ghana Education Trust Fund in March, presented a 365 double cabin Isuzu pickups and 493 motorbikes to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other agencies under the Ministry of Education.

All 260 District Education offices have been allocated a pick up each and a number of motorbikes for circuit supervision.

This gesture, Dr Opoku-Prempeh said was a continuous demonstration of government’s commitment to ensuring that logistics were available to institutions for their efficiency and effective administration.

He said government Free Secondary High School education policy had catapulted the country’s educational system by providing opportunities for more students to be enrolled in to the second cycle institution.

The policy's core themes of access, equity and equality fulfil the United Nations modified Sustainable Development Goals, where member countries amalgamate those themes in their educational systems to certify adequate learning experiences for students.

He said government had absorbed the registration fees, administrative cost for the examination and cost of practical for students in public senior high schools who sat for this year’s West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination.

These candidates are the first batch of the free SHS education introduced by President Nana Akufo-Addo in September 2017.

He said government had outperformed its successive governments in the last three and half years’ administration and would continue to invest in education and other sectors for sustained national development.

Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, the Director General of the GES expressed appreciation to government for the great support and special interest showed in the education sector.

He was optimistic that the vehicles would go a long way to promote quality operations in the schools, to ensure improved learning outcomes.

He pledged his commitment to ensure that the buses were well maintained and urged school heads not to use the vehicles for other purposes apart from its intended operational use.