'This is nonsensical' – NAGRAT member slams dept. education min. for blaming economic woes on teachers

A member of the National Association of Graduate Teachers, Bright Murphy Ahorlete, has slammed the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Technician and Vocational Education Training (TVET), Gifty Twum-Ampofo, for blaming teachers for the economic woes of Ghana.

Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb, the teacher described the deputy minister’s statement as ‘nonsensical’ because it is the government which is responsible for the formulation of the country’s economic policies.

“The policymakers would make those policies and bring them to us to implement; so, at the end of it all, what you bring is what we implement. So, you realise that there is honestly a disconnect between the police makers and policy implementors.

“So, you can’t blame the teacher because we don’t bring out the policies, the policymakers are the politicians, the economist and the others she (the deputy minister) wants to exonerate – we (the teachers) are just down there implementing. So, the blame should be at the top not down.

“I don’t know the research paper she was referring to but what she said does not really apply to Ghana… what she said is nonsensical,” he said.

Murphy Ahorlete noted that Ghanaian graduates are not adding more to Ghana’s economy because of the lack of employment opportunities.

He added that the government should focus on creating more opportunities for graduates and desist from shifting the blame on the challenges the country is facing.

He also said that governments should also learn to consult stakeholders in the educational sector in the drawing up of policies so that they can help produce more productive graduates.

What the deputy minister said?

Gifty Twum-Ampofo explained that for any country's economy to perform well, it largely depends on its gross tertiary enrolment ratio.

She, therefore, bemoaned the fact that Ghana has a low gross tertiary enrolment ratio owing to the poor performance of students which in effect has a significant negative impact on the economy, starfm.com.gh reports.

“Research has proven that any country’s gross tertiary enrolment ratio has so much to do with GDP. So for our instructors and for our lecturers here once you have this responsibility and you get so much commitment then we are sure that the gross tertiary enrollment ratio will definitely increase and when that increases the GDP of the country will increase.”

“And for this simple reason, if the economy is not doing well, it is not the economists, it is the teachers. Let me say that again if the economy is not doing well, it is not the finance minister, it is not the economist, it is the teacher because the performance of the economy depends on the country’s gross tertiary enrollment ratio,” she is quoted on Saturday, July 1, 2023, while speaking at the 175th Anniversary of Presbyterian College of Education.

Gifty Twum-Ampofo further stressed that in countries whose gross tertiary enrolment ratio is 40% and above, their GDP is fantastic and in those with lower gross tertiary enrolment ratio, the economy is struggling hence urged teachers to do more to contribute their quota to the economic growth of the country through the training of the needed human capital for economic transformation.

“Countries who have their 40% and above the GDP is fantastic and those of us who have it lower, the economy is struggling. So now the solution is a foundation that you have provided as a teacher.”

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