Onwe (Ash), Feb. 23, GNA – The Government’s resolve to transform the face of education, especially at the primary and second-cycle levels, is in tune with the demands of the 21st century.
“Our investment in education is to respond to the economical, technological, and societal shifts that are happening at an ever-increasing pace,” the Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the Deputy Education Minister, noted.
According to him, the educational system was preparing the youth to succeed by equipping them with the requisite skills and competencies they needed for the job market.
“Education does not simply mean an ability to read, write and use numbers. It deals generally with upgrading one’s cognitive ability and set of skills to develop his or her own life as well as that of the community,” the Rev. Fordjour said, when he performed a ground-breaking ceremony for the take-off of two community school projects in Ejisu and Juaben, in the Ashanti Region.
The two ’Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Junior High School (JHS)’ infrastructure are being executed under the 21st Century Community Schools Project, spearheaded by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
The Funds and Procurement Management Unit (FPMU) of the Ministry is the project managers, with Messrs. Winjet Ghana Limited and Sparkx Ghana Limited as the contractors.
On completion, the schools will provide facilities, including science and computer laboratories, libraries, offices and classrooms to enhance the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the basic level.
The Rev. Fordjour said the greatest investment ever to be made in education under the Fourth Republican Constitution, was the implementation of the ‘Free Senior High School (SHS)’ programme.
The overarching agenda, he said, was to ensure that as many youth as possible had access to second-cycle education, thereby contributing substantially to Ghana’s human resource growth.
The Deputy Education Minister asked the contractors to work assiduously for the projects to be completed as scheduled.
Mr. John Kumah, Deputy Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ejisu, said the sustainable socio-economic growth of any country was dependent on the depth and quality of its human resource.
Therefore, the government would not relent in its determination to invest the relevant resources and funds in educational development, he assured.
In a solidarity message, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, said the government’s focus was to achieve a more robust educational system consistent with the fourth industrial revolution.
“We must integrate relevant academic content with experiences that nurture the skills and mindsets needed to participate meaningfully for socio-economic transformation,” he noted.
GNA