Knowledge and skills are vital for our development – President Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday said government would spare no effort in the quest to ensure that Ghana's education catered to the needs of our development objectives.

He said his government is determined to invest in and make knowledge and skills the fulcrum of Ghana's development effort.

President Akufo-Addo made this known at this year's President's Day Awards, where 24 students who did exceptionally well in the 2018 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) were honored for academic excellence.

The students, chosen from public schools across the country, were selected based on their raw scores obtained from the West African Examinations Council – out of the 500,000 who took the examinations.

Education would be the backbone of Ghana's society and economy, the President said, adding that it was the best way to guarantee the progress and well-being of the nation.

With government's effort over the last two years, making certain every Ghanaian child had access to free education from kindergarten to the senior high school levels, the President said knowledge and talents were never the preserve of the privileged.

He expressed confidence that the free education policy of government would widen the gates of opportunities to every child, especially those whose talents are arrested because of poverty.

"At this point in our history, we are determined to complete the transformation of our country, into a modern 21st century nation, that remains distinctly and uniquely Ghanaian.

"It is for this reason that investments in the education system is a key priority for my government," he said.

Such investment, President Akufo-Addo said, required a school curriculum that gave the youth the education needed to make them competitive nationally and globally.

Thus, a new standards-based curriculum, drawn from best practices across the world, would be rolled out in September this year from kindergarten to Class 6 in primary schools.

The curriculum, with mathematics, science, reading and writing at its core, he said, would focus on making Ghanaian children confident, innovative, creative-thinking, digitally-literate, well-rounded, and patriotic citizens.

"We are preparing you for the birth of a prosperous society. A society that creates opportunities for all its citizens, rewards creativity and enterprise, honesty and hardwork."

The President urged the award recipients to take advantage of the wide-ranging opportunities that would be afforded them in the years ahead.

The 24 awardees included 14 males and 10 females, two of them visually impaired and another two with hearing impairment.

The students received GHC 1, 000 cash, assorted food products from Nestle Ghana Limited, a Samsung Tablet, supply of books and stationaries from Kingdom Books and Stationary.