He said, according to the 2010 population census, women constitute about 51% of the Ghanaian population, which clearly shows that girl child education ought to be taken more seriously than before, as Kwagyir Aggrey said “to educate a boy is to educate an individual, but to educate a girl is to educate a whole nation”.
President Akufo Addo stated that his government’s aim at transforming the country’s economy will be greatly influenced by the kind of attention given to and the level of investment made in the area of girls’ education.
The President noted that, education is important to every nation and his government will not hesitate to make it accessible to all, including girl child.
President Akufo Addo said this when he was speaking at the 90th Anniversary celebration of the Krobo Girls Presbyterian Senior High School at Krobo Odumasi in the Eastern Region on Saturday.
The theme for the occasion was “Achieving Excellence in Girls Education: The Role of Stakeholders”
On financing his education policy, the President said, he is of the firm believe that proceeds from Ghana’s natural resources ought to be used to educate the citizenry instead of the proceeds finding itself in the hands of few officials without accountability.
He reiterated his government’s commitment made particularly in the 2017 Financial year Budget presented to Parliament, which was dubbed as “Asempa Budget” that his government will surely fund his free education policy with revenue from Ghana’s natural resources.
On the role of teachers in the transformation of education, Nana Addo lamented that “for us to make success of our educational policy, an attention must be given to teachers because a skilled and well-motivated teacher force is the sure guarantee the nation needs, and if it is to develop a work force that can transform Ghana from a raw material exporting economy to an industrial economy”.
“To achieve this, the teacher training and development will be priority to my administration. Government will also collaborate with the Ghana National Association of Teachers to assist teachers to acquire their own homes. Teachers will also be assisted to enroll in distance learning programs to build their capacity”, Nana Addo added.
Nana Akufo Addo also urged parents to acknowledge that they have the first role and responsibility as teachers of their own children. He stated that, parents’ involvement in the education of their wards is a significant factor in their educational success for the future. He says parents should therefore take the lead in providing the girl child all that they need in order to be successful in their educational endeavours.
In her speech, the Headmistress of the school, Madam Cecilia Obenewaa Appiah, requested for government’s support for the school to build an 18-unit classroom block to help deal with the classroom deficit the school is faced with.
In a sharp response, Nana Akufo Addo directed the Minister of Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh to ensure that the facility is built for the school.
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Source: Frontpageghana.com
