The outgoing Country Representative of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Ms Anne-Claire Dufay, has hailed the government, the Education Ministry and other stakeholders in the country for their roles in bringing Ghanaian children back to school after the Covid-19 outbreak worldwide.

According to her, the prudent strategies and measures put in place by the government to ensure that all Ghanaian children go back to school are worth emulating worldwide even as many other nations found it extremely difficult to re-open their schools.

Ms Anne-Claire Dufay announced this during a farewell courtesy call on the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum in Accra on Friday. 

The UNICEF Country Representative is leaving Ghana after five years of service in the country.

 “Some countries took a long time before re-opening schools and now some children are still struggling to learn, Ghana has been shining with regards to their response to the Covid-19, whether on the health side or academics, Ghana has been at the forefront of the response to Covid-19 control”, she said.

Again, Ms Anne-Claire Dufay stated that “this has been made possible through the Education Ministry, Ghana Education Service (GES) as well as all other Ministries and Agencies working under this sector, this is one thing we decided to support with hygiene and sanitation facilities, teachers were ready to welcome the children and the young people, this is a big achievement for Ghana”. 

She enumerated some of the gains made in the country through her office as the introduction of the Early Childhood Development Policy, the launching of the Right Age Enrolment campaign, the Inclusive Education Policy and the effort to assist children with disability to get involved in sports among others. 

The UNICEF Country Representative said a recent meeting with the leadership of the Ghana Football Association was aimed at putting in place policies to help introduce children with disability into sports because it is very important not to leave any child behind when it comes to talent development.

Commendation 

She said, “The Free Senior High School Policy (FSHS) is a great novelty. UNICEF quote it as a positive global example, under your leadership and that of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.”

Ms Anne-Claire Dufay appealed to the government to ensure that all pledges made towards the development of education at the various platforms such as the Global Education Summit, in the UK in 2021 and the Transforming Education Summit in New York, in September this year would be followed with keen interest to improve education development in the country.

She commended the government for increased budget allocation to education despite the global economic constraint facing the globe, describing it as very impressive saying, “We look forward to the implementation of the commitment we have adopted by the President at the Transforming Education Summit and the African Union and UNICEF side Event”.

Concluding her exhortation to the country, she indicated that effort to train teachers to ensure that they have the qualities required to provide quality education to meet the international standard for the test for grade 2 and 4 pupils, STEM and TVET promotion as well as the development of mobile library initiatives are worth noting.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, praised Ms Anne-Claire Dufay for her dedication and commitment shown during her five-year stay in the country as the development policies brought into the country would go a long way towards national development.

“You made UNICEF come alive in terms of its relevance to this country whether in the inclusive education Policy towards the transformation of this country or any other support you facilitated or collaborated with other stakeholders to attain,” he said. 

The Education Minister who is also the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe, pledged the Education Ministry’s preparedness to continue partnering the UNICEF and other agencies to get the best for the country and the rest of the world.

Dr Adutwum presented assorted gift from the Education Ministry and the GES in appreciation to the support towards the development of education in the country during her stay in the country.