The Minister of Education, Dr. Osei Yaw Adutwum, says in spite of available data indicating the rising standard of education in Ghana, some people have decided not to see the progress and are rather interested in bastardising the success.
In a thinly-veiled riposte at former President John Mahama, who has downplayed the 70% pass rate of SHS students who sat the 2023 WASCEE with claims that the students connived with teachers to cheat, Dr. Adutwum said people who make such claims to downplay the rising standard of education, don’t read to know what is going on.
“Some people have not read to know about the progress of education in the country,” he said at the 63rd Anniversary of the Ghana Muslim Mission in Kumasi over the weekend.
“So they go about saying that the standard of education has fallen when they are oblivious of the facts,” Dr. Adutwum added.
“For instance, for Science, statistics show that in 2015; you all know who was president in 2015, about 28% of those who took the exams passed in Science. Now the pass percentage for Integrated Science is 68%.
“It has improved considerably. So whoever says the standard of education has fallen, doesn’t know what he is talking about.”
The Minister of Education also pointed to increased enrollment in SHS, following the Free SHS Policy in 2017, by 600,000, as well as the increasing success rate in WASCEE exams, which he said points to the impact of the Free SHS Policy by the Akufo-Addo government, on education in Ghana.
“President Akufo-Addo and his Vice brought Free SHS and they have provided the needed support to make it a success and bring relief to parents,” he said.
He also spoke about how the Free SHS policy is ensuring inclusiveness and bringing relief to many poor families.
“During our time, many did not have this opportunity and they dropped out of school. Many of those who dropped out of school, could have been PhD holders. Today, Nana Addo says no Ghanaian child should drop out of school because of fees. Everything is free and many parents are at ease.
“Free SHS is about inclusion because it is a policy which is helping the poor to access same schools as the rich. I know how poverty feels like so I will do everything possible to make sure that Free SHS continues to work even better.
“If anybody says they will review Free SHS, it means one thing. That person wants to cancel it and we won’t allow that.
“Developed countries are what they are today because of education. And that is where we want to take Ghana to.
“Where are taking education to a high level in Ghana which had never happened before. Secondary education is free and quality is high. We have also invested so much in technical and vocational halls. We have uplifted many technical institutes by providing expansion and equipment.
“Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is also improving and the performance of students has been excellent.
“Our education is on the rise and our young students are able to compete favourably with foreign students.”