Former President John Dramani Mahama has thrown a challenge to the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum to enhance educational systems rather than shutting down schools to solve current problems.
He asserts that the Minister’s first duty is to assist students in getting better grades rather than to close down their institutions.
Mr. Mahama thus asked the Minister to resign if he does not have any solutions to the country’s educational problems.
“Help them achieve better results and provide better education for the children, but don’t you dare close schools. The Minister for Education should resign if his only solution to a problem is to close schools,” he said.
Addressing branch executives of NDC earlier on Sunday, March 19, at Adudwama in the Ahafo Ano South East Constituency, the former President said the Minister does not have any power to close down schools.
It would be recalled that the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum challenged the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) and Principals of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to improve their educational outcomes or stand the risk of having their institutions closed down.
Dr. Adutwum explained that a school with a consistent zero to ten percent pass rate should put together intervention programmes to ensure that majority of their students will find opportunities for further studies, rather than becoming a liability to their parents and society due to their inability to pass their exam.
The Minister said that closing down such schools would help save the nation from the huge financial losses being incurred by the government on such schools.
The Bosomtwe lawmaker said in such a situation, the affected students would be redistributed to other nearby schools, so they could continue their education.