Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Ghana’s minister of education, has stressed the pressing need for progressive reform in the country’s educational system.
According to Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, leadership in Ghana’s education cannot continue to be developed via apprenticeships; rather, it needs to emerge from leaders who have received special training and are driven by learning outcomes.
Dr. Adutwum stated that a National Standardized Test conducted in 2022 on the reading abilities of Primary-2 students revealed that 62 percent of these pupils couldn’t read, a situation he claimed was even worse in 2015.
He made this disclosure at the National Education Leadership Institute (NELI) inaugural event sponsored by the Education Ministry in Takoradi, which was monitored by 1Family Radio.
“In a test conducted in 2015, only 2% of Primary 2 students could read in this country. Thereafter, in 2022, the President invested resources and was able to access every Primary 2 student in the country on the National Standardized Test,’’ he said.
“The test result that is out has revealed that 38% of the students can read, but I’m not happy about it [because] it also said 62% can’t read, and we can’t be happy with that.’’
He continued, “We have to begin to raise a new generation of education leaders who will be interested in learning outcomes and who will lead the charge to ensure that Ghana’s fortunes will change.’’
“We cannot depend on this apprenticeship leadership any longer… We have to fast-track the Wesley Girls’ experience so we can get more effective school leadership, and this is where the National Education Leadership Institute comes in.’’
“The apprenticeship would be there, but people will also have to study and understand what makes schools work in Ghana,” he added.
Source: 1Familyradio
