This year’s edition of the National Education Week has been launched on Monday with a call on managers of educational resources to efficiently use the limited resources available and desist from politicizing the management of the sector to create a better future for the nation.

The launching of the event brought together national stakeholders from all sub-sectors within the education space who would be engaging in stocktaking, looking at various policies in the sector and planning for the development of the sector.

Launching the event, Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo, Senior Presidential Advisor, was upbeat that everything possible would be done by the government to protect the budget and gains made in the education sector.

He explained that the critical role played by the education sector requires that it should be granted the right resources to ensure that it trains the right manpower needs of the country.

IMF discussion

Mr Osafo Maafo indicated that with the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government would maintain its desire to sustain the gains made so far with the introduction of the Free Senior High School policy.

He lauded the Education Minister for his vision and strong desire towards the development of the sector so it would help transform the nation’s economy.

The Special Advisor mentioned some of the reasons why the sector cannot reduce its annual budget to the effort being made to deepen access and quality STEM Education across all levels in all regions and roll out the Communities of Excellence program across the country.

Again he indicated that the government wants to ensure that all children acquire Literacy and Numeracy skills at grade 4, provide an opportunity for out-of-school children to access basic education and consolidation free SHS to include free TVET as well as equip Ghanaian Youth with 21st Century Skills to enhance their global competitiveness.

Government’s commitment

The Deputy Minister for Education in charge of General Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, indicated that the government was committed to resolving all challenges confronting the sector.

He used the occasion to praise various stakeholders in the education sector who keep playing diverse roles in ensuring that the nation’s education was moving on smoothly.

The Deputy Minister of Education reiterated that reassessing educational policies as outlined in the theme for the commemoration was very important and its essence could not be overemphasized.

He urged the participants to make quality inputs that stood the chance of improving the sector towards the transformation of the nation’s economy

Background

This year’s National Education Week (NEW) has the theme: ‘Re-assessing Educational Policies for Effective Service Delivery and National Transformation’.

It is being participated by approximately 300 officials drawn from the Education Ministry, officials from Agencies, Regional Directors of Education, selected District Directors, Heads of Schools and representatives from other ministries, development partners, academia, teacher unions, NGOs, CSOs, and the private sector.