The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, who from all indications is confused as to how to handle Ghana’s education sector, last Sunday made certain interesting remarks during his encounter with the media in Accra.
All-knowing Dr. Adutwum is reported to have said that the reason he left the United States of America was that he knows he can use his experience from there to help transform Ghana’s education sector.
“I won’t leave what I was doing in America and come here and play around. We were doing serious work out there in Los Angeles. President came there and saw me and said come here and help change the education system,’’ he said.
The minister’s position at the event was nothing short of bragging because Ghana’s current education system is in total shambles and nobody can deny that.
University Teachers are currently on strike for the past three weeks and the minister who says that he was brought to Ghana to change the face of education has not been able to talk the members of the University Teachers of Ghana (UTAG) out of the strike.
As a teacher, I humbly want to ask my minister if the America that he uses to brag of his prowess and ability to change the face of Ghana’s education, has disjointed academic calendar for public schools.
So terrible is the situation that with our basic schools and second cycle calendar that parents and teachers are all confused of exactly what was going on.
Second Cycle schools are in disarray to the extent they could be closed and open without any proper arrangements, something is really happening under the American trained educationist and he must accept that all is not well and work towards changing the ugly situation.
But for stakeholders within the education sector, basic schools were going to witness the introduction of semester-based system, something which was done without proper consultations.
I don’t think that handlers of the America education system would introduce a policy without properly consulting with those the policy would affect.
What is intriguing is the fact that the Ghana Education Service (GES) is not allowed to operate as it should be because of constant interference from the minister.
Heads of institutions are scared to take bold initiatives because of the fear of incurring the wrath of the minister and that was affecting the smooth running of schools at the second cycle level.
The education minister would do himself lots of good if he stops his all-knowing attitude and do proper self-assessment and assessment of the education sector under his watch.
Such assessment would help him to come to terms with the fact that he is doing bad and must sit up and do things properly to save Ghana’s education sector.
Dr. Adutwum, I want to tell you the honest truths that Ghanaians are not feeling your Yankee background that you are so much obsessed with because it has not changed anything in the education sector which is on the downward spiral.
Let your performance speak for you, instead of bragging about what you were doing at Los Angeles because your work rate as a minister would not be accepted in anywhere in America.
I Shall Return!
By Teacher Moses Yaw Krubi