The National Union of Ghana students (NUGS) has honoured the President’s representative at the Ministry of Education, Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh at his office in Accra for his contribution towards education in Ghana and particularly for leading the rollout of the Free SHS programme.
The delegation was led by the NUGS President, Mr. Isaac Hyde, and included representatives from NUGS’ constituent bodies such as University Students Association of Ghana (USAG), the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG), Ghana Union of Professional Students (GUPS) and the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG).
The various constituent bodies also presented citations to him.
Decorating Dr. Prempeh with a sash and presenting him with a citation, Mr. Hyde reiterated his immense contribution to Ghanaian education during his tenure as Minister for Education. He recounted in particular the securitization of GETFund revenues to fund infrastructure and COVID-19 support and interventions in education.
Mr. Hyde also recalled the Free SHS programme which has provided immense opportunity to many children who would otherwise not be able to access SHS education. It was for this reason that NUGS had decided to confer on him the status of ‘Dr. Free SHS’, in recognition of his role in the rollout of the programme.
Dr. Prempeh expressed his deep appreciation for the kind gesture by NUGS and its constituent bodies, and emphasized that the government of President Akufo-Addo came into office in 2017 as evangelists to preach their manifesto. Particularly on Free SHS, he stated that there were lots of doubts, but that the government was prepared to ‘walk the talk’ and remained focused.
He also expressed his delight that he was leaving office with one NUGS, as opposed to a fragmented one, in place, and recalled his own experience as a NUGS leader back in university. He encouraged NUGS to foster its relationships among its constituent bodies and also with government, urging them to avoid partisanship when engaging on national issues.