By Iddi Yire
Accra, Feb 18, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama, has expressed his sincere apologies on behalf of the Planning Committee of the National Education Forum to stakeholders of faith-based organizations for the unpardonable omission committed in their delayed invitation to the Forum.
Speaking at the opening of the National Education Forum in Ho, President Mahama said: “I’m aware that the omission was very speedily remedied, but you still deserve an unqualified apology for this oversight.
“And since you are the purveyors of God’s mercy on earth, I’m sure that you are forgiving us for this.
“And we know you are important stakeholders because you own some of the schools, and so this educational forum is important to see how we carry everybody together.”
President Mahama said Ghana had begun an important journey of consensus building on an important sector, and that was education.
He said for many years Ghanaians watched the standards of the nation’s education suffer significant decline, and they have individually and collectively expressed their various views on how they believe the problems bedeviling the education sector could be addressed.
“What we have, however, lacked has been a unified platform on which the various shapes of opinion and perspectives can be put into a melting pot and distilled to yield the most optimal outcomes for our children,” he said.
He noted that in the years preceding his coming to office, he had indicated his desire to convene a national dialogue on the best approach to giving Ghanaian children a shot at a better life through quality and relevant education.
He reiterated his commitment to ensuring that all who were concerned about education in Ghana had an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to shaping the policies and programs that would deliver the kind of education they all want.
“I am gratified that this has become a reality, and I stand before you today to officially open the National Education Consultative Forum with great pleasure and a deep sense of purpose,” he said.
“This moment marks a significant step in fulfilling one of the commitments of our 120-day social contract with the big people of Ghana, a commitment to build consensus on the urgent and necessary reforms needed to reset our education sector.”
President Mahama said education was not just a tool for personal development, it was the bedrock upon which the progress and prosperity of any nation rests.
“It defines the present and determines the future of our country.”
President Mahama said education must remain a tool for empowerment, equality, and transformation in Ghana.
“It is also an important instrument for social mobility. It must inspire hope and deliver opportunity for all,” he said.
“Whether you are born in Accra or the remotest part of our nation, we recognize that the education system we inherited has not kept pace with the needs of 21st century society and the 4th Industrial Revolution.”
GNA