NDC promises to transform Ghana’s human resource base

Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the Presidential Running Mate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), says the party’s manifesto on education is meant to build a resilient and vibrant human resource base for the country.

Ghana under an NDC-led Administration, she said, would see tremendous transformation in knowledge and skills acquisition by the citizenry through comprehensive educational policies and programmes.

“It is our duty as intellectuals to tell the masses what the ‘People’s Manifesto’ has to offer for the betterment of Ghanaians,” she told lecturers and students of the University of Education, Kumasi Campus, at a meeting, which formed part of her campaign tour of the Ashanti Region.

The meeting had in attendance members of the ‘Progressive Intellectuals,’ a group of educated elites aligned to the NDC’s ideologies, and the Tertiary Education Institution Network (TEIN), the party’s student body.

Prof. Naana Opoku-Agyemang is on a six-day working visit to solicit votes for the party in Ashanti.

She is meeting various identifiable groups, including the university community, women groups, traders, artisans, professionals and the youth.

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) is campaigning on some key points of the NDC’s manifesto, including education, health, job creation, skills acquisition, women and youth empowerment and economic management.

Accompanying her is a team of some of the NDC’s leadership, including Mr Alex Segbefia, a former Minister of Health and Dr Samuel Sarpong, former Regional Minister.

The others are Nana Akwasi Andrews, the Regional NDC Chairman and Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu in the Volta Region, and also former Deputy Minister of Information.

The NDC garnered 503, 497 votes, representing 23. 32 per cent of the total ballots cast in the presidential race of the 2016 General Election, and won three out of 47 seats in the traditional stronghold of the ruling New Patriotic Party.

The party under its manifesto intends to raise the levels of numeracy, literacy, self-esteem and responsible citizenship by extending opportunities to commercial drivers, market women, labourers, amongst others, through an extended complementary basic education based on more flexible school hours.

Additionally, it has promised to expand the Free Senior High School Programme to cover students in private schools in deprived areas, strengthen and sustain private participation in the delivery of secondary education.

The NDC has envisioned providing computer laboratories for all secondary schools, residential facilities in schools to accommodate teachers and educational staff and also free Technical and Vocational Education at the secondary and tertiary levels.

Prof. Naana Opoku-Agyemang indicated that the NDC when given the mandate in the December General Election would deepen life skills, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in Technical and Vocational Education and Training.

Prof. Imoro Braimah, a member of the ‘Progressive Intellectuals’ expressed the hope that the country’s educational system would be changed for the better if the NDC should win the elections.