Education is fundamental to development and growth. The human mind makes possible all development achievements, from health advances and agricultural innovations to efficient public administration and private sector growth.

For countries to reap these benefits fully, they need to unleash the potential of the human mind. And there is no better tool for doing so than education.

But the host of Joy FM’s 'That's My Opinion', Nana Ansah Kwao IV, believes education shouldn't only be in the classrooms.

According to him, foundational skills acquired early in childhood make possible a lifetime of learning. The traditional view of education as starting in primary school takes up the challenge too late. The science of brain development shows that learning needs to be encouraged early and often, both inside and outside of the formal schooling system.

He adds prenatal health and early childhood development programs that include education and health are consequently important to realize this potential. In the primary years, quality teaching is essential to give students the foundational literacy and numeracy on which lifelong learning depends.

Adolescence is also a period of high potential for learning, but many teenagers leave school at this point, lured by the prospect of a job, the need to help their families, or turned away by the cost of schooling. For those who drop out too early, second-chance and non-formal learning opportunities are essential to ensure that all youth can acquire skills for the labor market.

He suggests, in order to ease the piling pressure on the middle belt of the country’s educational system, industrial hands-on training facilities should be able to award certificates to apprenticeship artisans, students, staffs, individuals who will come out already baked for the job market and can do something with their hands without depending solely on white colour jobs or on government for employment.

Nana Ansah Kwao IV admits learning for all will be challenging, but it is the right agenda for the next decade. It is the knowledge and skills that children and youth acquire today not simply their school attendance that will drive their employability, productivity, health, and well-being in the decades to come, and that will help ensure that their communities and nations thrive.

Nana Ansah Kwao IV chief of the little Republic of ADUMASA! Once a Dyslexia sufferer.