A claim by the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cannot boast of a single school has been contested.
Eastern Regional Youth Organiser for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Jerry Osei-Poku, said data available indicates that Mr John Mahama’s performance in education between the year 2013 to 2016 was abysmal when compared to the records of President Akufo-Addo between the year 2017 to 2019.
“Contrary to claims by the National Democratic Congress that, the NPP hasn’t constructed or established a single school, the NPP says President Akufo-Addo has commenced the construction of seven brand new Senior High Schools that meet global standards in his first term,” he said.
He made the comments when he was addressing the ‘The Youth Must Know Series’ held in Abomosu in the Atewa West District of the Eastern Region.
The event, among other things, compared the records of the two parties on education.
Detailing the achievements of Nana Akufo-Addo in the education sector, Osei-Poku said the construction of new Senior High Schools, Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) centres are among the few.
He said the schools have administration blocks, dormitory blocks, dining halls, assembly halls, laboratories, creative arts/science blocks, staff accommodation, recreational facilities, roads and external works, and services and maintenance shed among others.
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He said two existing schools are being upgraded to model schools in Kwadaso, Dabaa, Akrodie, Koaso in Wenchi, Diaso in the Central Region Weija in Ga South, Kpasenkpe in West Mamprusi District and Awaso in Tarkwa Nsuame.
“Fellow Youth, the government is also constructing 21 sophisticated Technical Vocational Education Training {TVET} Centers of Excellence across the country. One of the TVET centres is situated at Anyinam in the Atewa East District of the Eastern Region,” Jerry Osei-Poku stressed.
He added that the NDC with their eight years in power cannot boast of the same achievements.
He said between January 2017 and December 2019, the government employed a total of 66, 357 teaching and non-teaching staffs in the pre-tertiary level.
He also said financial clearance has been obtained to recruit additional 27,367 teaching and non-teaching staff comprising 16,500 newly qualified teachers, 6,500 graduate teachers, 3,232 replacement staff and 1,135 non- teaching staff.
Jerry Osei-Poku said in a total, a staggering 93,724 Ghanaians would have been employed by the end of this year at the pre-tertiary level while 6,176 people have been employed at the tertiary level since 2017.
“Building on our fulfilled 2016 manifesto promise to accelerate the creation of jobs, the NPP in our 2020 manifesto has solemnly pledged to create more jobs for the teeming Ghanaian youth. No single qualified and trained teacher will be jobless in our second term as we have done in our first term,” he stressed.
According to him, President Nana Akufo-Addo’s achievements in the education sector have been chalked despite the huge outstanding bills on key supplies for education services delivery it inherited from the John Mahama administration.
“There were outstanding bills of approximately GH¢31 million on shambolic progressively Free SHS policy, GH¢ 9 million on Capitation Grant, GH¢4 million on Feeding Grants for special schools, GH¢14 million on exercise books for basic schools and GH¢4 million on the supply of school uniforms among others,” Jerry Osei-Poku said.
He said within the period, the Akufo-Addo government has cleared all the arrears and has assured timely release of Capitation and Feeding Grants for special schools.
The NPP also said at the ‘Youth Must Know Series’ that in less than four years, Akufo-Addo’s administration has instituted Academic Interventions and motivation packages for teachers, instituted Professional Allowance for teachers, abolished Mahama’s three months’ salary arrears policy and cleared 91% of the legacy arrears.
Area View of the Abomosu SHS