The delegation from All-Africa Students Union with the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum
Leadership of the All-Africa Students Union on Thursday, June 3, 2021, paid a working visit to the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum at his office in Accra.
The visit was the first since Dr Yaw Adutwum was appointed as the substantive minister.
The delegation, led by Secretary-General H.E. Peter Kwesi Kodjie and AASU Vice President for West Africa Varney expressed delight at the opportunity to meet the sector minister to discuss issues of education in Ghana and Africa more broadly.
The visit by the leadership of AASU was in line with the goal to strengthen relations with state actors and government institutions in the collective efforts to promote education and youth development in Africa.
On his part, Dr Yaw Adutwum welcomed the team and expressed delight at the work of AASU. He also challenged them to do more. The Minister stressed the need for Ghana and Africa to continue to invest in education if the future of young people on the continent would be secured. He further reiterated the government of Ghana's commitment to that goal.
Secretary-General of AASU, Mr Peter Kodjie also thanked the Minister and Government of Ghana for their support to the operations of All-Africa Students Union. This is particularly important because despite headquartered in Ghana, AASU's operations cover all of Africa and even beyond. The Union is therefore significant to Ghana foreign policy and general position on the continent as a leader.
The Secretary-General made a brief presentation on ongoing projects that AASU is undertaking. Specifically, he spoke about the SDG 4 Monitoring Project which assesses the progress of the implementation of inclusive and quality education by African governments.
He also noted that AASU has environmental sustainability as one of its strategic focal points and thus highlighted the ‘AASU Tree Planting Project’. This project incidentally aligns with a similar project the ministry is currently rolling out, that is the ‘One Tree One Student Project’.
The ‘Education Enrollment Program’, another key project of AASU which monitors, encourages and gets school children back into the classroom away from hazardous and harmful activities. According to Mr Kodjie, this project continues to receive plaudits from the international community for its style of implementation and innovative approach.
After very fruitful discussions and reassurances from both the Ministry of Education and AASU, the delegation thanked the Minister, Dr Yaw Adutwum. Members of the delegation also expressed their appreciation and promised to continue to work in the interest of the student movement in Africa.
The All-Africa Students Union is the largest student organization on the continent with membership in every country. The Union is headquartered in Accra under the African Union Headquarters Agreement with the Government of Ghana.
Founded in Ghana in 1972, the All-Africa Students Union has grown to be fully representative of students and youth of Africa with recognition from the African Union and United Nations as well. Over the years, the AASU has led significant advocacy across several education policy domains with the aim to improve access and quality of education in Africa.
