As 2022 comes to an end with all the difficulties that the country has gone through, the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum remains the brightest spot in this administration and therefore, is worthy of praise and recognition.
The minister has not only exceeded the expectations of many Ghanaians, especially at the policy level but also distinguished himself as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the people of Bosomtwe.
His elevation as the substantive minister in 2021 has brought a lot of innovative and transformative interventions in the education sector, creating opportunities for thousands of Ghanaian children to climb the academic ladder without difficulties.
Today, Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) which hitherto, was merely considered an option for the academically weak, has become attractive; thanks to the leadership of Dr. Adutwum.
Even more intriguing, is the fact that students who offer technical courses, as well as visual arts in senior high Schools (SHS), have a window of opportunity to pursue engineering courses at the tertiary level.
This intervention which forms part of strategies to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education has been touted as one of the best initiatives ever introduced in the sector.
Prior to his appointment as the substantive minister, Dr. Adutwum was seen as the brain behind the free Senior High School Policy which remains the flagship policy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Aside being one of the outstanding ministers under this administration, Dr. Adutwum has also been hailed by his constituents for supporting the poor within the constituency to access tertiary education.
Dr. Adutwum recently won the heart of many Ghanaian teachers when it was announced that transfer and car maintenance allowances of Ghana Education Service (GES) that have been in arrears are to be paid to the staff members concerned.
His ambition to produce hundreds of engineers for Bosomtwe in the next few years has impacted many families whose wards would have stayed home but for the intervention of Dr. Adutwum.
In the last two years, Dr. Adutwum has personally paid for tuition, hostel fees and pocket monies of hundreds of students from Bosomtwe studying engineering and science related courses in various public universities.
The minister is also taking steps to build hostels in some of the universities to accommodate students from Bosomtwe.
Beyond his ministerial and parliamentary exploits, he has always represented Ghana on the world stage during international conferences with exquisite delivery.
Early this year, he received international applauds when he bluntly spoke about how Africa’s education system trains children to be timid rather than being assertive and confident.
Even as Ghana grapples with the current economic challenges, Dr. Adutwum is one minister that the country can be proud of.