The Deputy Education minister-designate, John Ntim Fordjour, has intimated that quality education has not been comprised with quantity when it comes to the implementation of the Free SHS program.
Speaking before the Appointment’s Committee during his vetting today,;June 7, 2021, he averred the performance by the Free SHS students rather shows an improvement in the education sector.
“I do not agree that quality has been compromised with quantity. Considering all the reports available that is the annual report performance of the education sector indicates that education outcomes for the past five years are improving and quality is not being compromised.
“When the WAEC report for 2020 was announced,;out of 465 students in West Africa who scored A1 in all its subjects 88% of them, 411 to be precise were Ghana free SHS graduates. For the first time over 50 percent of our students who sat the WASSCE passed all core subjects. All the various scores are there to compare. This is the narrative the nation has to be proud of and for that I do not think quality has been compromised.”
Ntim Fordjour
He was also of the view that the Free SHS policy is a very prudent and transformational policy. He also stated that all stakeholders are supporting the policy because of the gains that it yields for the whole country.
Touching on how the policy is being track, he revealed that monitoring measures have been put in place in this regard.
“Every policy that is planned and implemented in any part of the world has in itself monitoring evaluations and formatives reviews such that the objectives will have to be kept on track. Objective that are deviating are also kept on track.”
Ntim Fordjour
Infrastructural problems will be attended to
Commenting on the issue of infrastructure in the various schools and the measures which will ensure it’s solved, he indicated his commitment to ensure that every infrastructure that has began, regardless of the regime that started it, will be attended to and pursued to completion.
“For the purpose of extending infrastructure at the various levels of education, 2,700 infrastructure was commenced and now 933 of them have been completed. The rest are under various stages of completion.
“A comprehensive debate about whose project is at various stages of completion and who started it will bring about many revelations because there are many projects that were started by various regimes and are still at various stages of completion.”
Ntim Fordjour
Mr. Ntim Fordjour further noted that some funding interventions have been committed to address the issue of schools under trees in the country.
Moreover, he stated that a lot of investment has been put in place for the TVET program to help transform the nation.
“Technical and vocational education form very critical part in economic transformation of every nation. It is upon this back drop that the President has strategically envisioned that by the end of 2030, the science to humanity ratio will have to be improved as formed from the current science and technology engineering.”
Ntim Fordjour
Speaking on the Students loan trust fund for tertiary students, Mr. Fordjoe said the ministry is set to engage with students loan trust fund to ensure that students who are admitted into tertiary get access to the students loan trust fund.
