President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s position that the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum was one of his best ministers has come under serious scrutiny.
A retired educationist, Mr. Samuel Yaw Kumah says that the President got it wrong because he was not on top of happenings within the educational sector in recent times.
According to him, Ghana’s education was rather retrogressing and wobbling under the watch of Dr. Adwutwum.
Cataloguing several issues that point to the failure of the sector under the current minister, he said: ‘’The flagship programme of the government, Free Senior High School (Free SHS) that was rolled out with high hopes is now in shambles.’’
Mr Kumah said that students in various boarding schools are hungry because of the poor food supply system that is prevailing currently.
‘’It is no secret that there is total confusion as far as the food supply system is concerned and the picketing by the suppliers alone should have informed the President that his ‘Darling Boy’ was not on top of issues,’’ he said.
He said: ‘’Supply of textbooks to students in various SHSs has also become problematic and parents are spending huge sums of money on their wards to provide them with books and food under the watch of Dr. Adutwum.’’
Mr. Kumah said that he was not surprised at the position of the President because he had in the past praised his appointees who were caught in one mess or the other.
‘’As an educationist, I am confused with lots of things under the current education minister as he seems to be embarking on a populist agenda, especially with the STEM education,’’ he said.
Mr Kumah explained that the STEM system is confusing as it does not have any clear-cut curriculum and questioned what happens to a student after a student studies robotics at the second cycle level.
‘’I have been monitoring events and the speed with which STEM has been overhyped is extremely dangerous because it is not well thought through,’’ he said.
According to him, most of the things President Akufo-Addo spoke about in praising Dr. Adutwum took place in the past.
‘’Not long ago there equipping of science laboratory in some SHSs, provision of chemicals and building of laboratories for selected schools but that programme has ceased for good reasons known to the minister,’’ he said.
He said: ‘’It is my candid position that President Akufo-Addo got it wrong in claiming that Dr Adutwum was one of his best appointees as we are presently witnessing the turbulent relationship between the ministry of various teacher unions in the country.’’
Mr. Kumah said: ‘’The best appointee is the one who can jaw-jaw with stakeholders in various unions instead of waiting for them to start agitations before the whole system comes in to deal with their grievances.’’