We failed our educational sector and deprived it of 7 years growth under the NPP gov’t – Hon. Doyoe Cudjoe

The Member of Parliament for Ada Constituency and Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe has expressed her concern about the state of Ghana’s educational sector under the NPP government, accusing it of depriving the sector of seven years of potential growth.

In an exclusive interview on the Happy Morning Show with Sefah Danquah, Madam Comfort Cudjoe criticized the government’s handling of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy, asserting that while they promised free SHS, the reality for parents involves incurring significant debts and losses.

“Our educational sector has been a failure but we fail to admit the truth in the country and improve on shortfalls. We were promised free SHS by the NPP and President Akufo-Addo but the debt and losses you incur as a parent defer to the assertions of the policy,” she bemoaned.

She highlighted the burden placed on MPs who previously use their common fund to support parents with educational expenses. However, with the implementation of free SHS, MPs are now unable to use their funds to help needy students due to the associated costs.

“The things students have to buy for school surpass Ghc 1,500, and since it’s free SHS, we can’t ultimately use our common funds to help the needy unless we sacrifice our purses,” Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe said.

This criticism comes at a time when the Ghana Education Service (GES) maintains the reporting date for first-year students as December 4, 2023, as indicated on the Placement form.

Parliament had previously called on the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Adutwum, to consider rescheduling the reopening date to the first week of January.

In response to the alleged failure of the Minister of Education to comply with Parliament’s directive, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Alban Bagbin, issued an ultimatum on Monday, December 4.

Speaker Bagbin demanded Dr Yaw Adutwum’s appearance before the house, expressing discontent and stating that the minister would face the Privileges Committee for contempt of parliament if he did not explain the situation promptly.

In response to the Speaker’s directive, some members of parliament expressed frustration, with the Member for Banda Constituency, Ahmed Ibrahim, accusing the Education Minister of disrespecting parliament by issuing counter directives.

However, Minister Adutwum eventually adhered to the Speaker’s instructions, presenting a statement before the House.

In his statement, Minister Adutwum cited the impact of COVID-19 on the academic calendar and revealed that the Ghana Education Service (GES) is working to revert to the pre-COVID Academic Calendar in 2024.