NDC Demands Resignation Of Education Minister

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for the resignation of Education Minister, Professor Christopher Ameyaw Ekumfi for causing financial loss of over forty two point five billion cedis to the state. The amount represents cost incurred by the state as a result of the cancellation of the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE). A statement signed by the party’s General Secretary, Dr Josiah Aryeh says although the leakage has been blamed on parents, the printing house and some officials of the West African Examination Council, the ultimate blame lies on the Education Ministry for negligence and incompetence within the education system.

According to the NDC, the magnitude of this year’s leakage is unprecedented in the entire colonial and post-colonial history of Ghana. The statement criticized government’s response to the problem and referred to the Information Minister, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey’s letter to JOY FM hours after the story broke, questioning the professional standards of the station’s journalists and the authenticity of the story instead of acting swiftly.

The NDC also wondered how the same printing house where the leakage occurred could be made to print the re-sit questions. It described government’s investigations into the incident as ‘sporadic and piecemeal’ and called for the setting up of an investigation committee with clear terms of reference to look into the matter.

“We thought we were promised positive change. We can no longer live in a system where major faults and lapses occur, and victims or their parents are blamed and made to suffer doubly. Let the prophets of positive change identify the culprits and bring them to book. No demonstrable culpability of students and parents has been shown,” the NDC said.