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As part of the celebrations for Ghana’s 67th anniversary of independence, President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo honored 46 young, bright students who placed first overall in the most recent Basic Education Certificate Examination.
Ten of the forty-six students who made up the overall national best students were selected from private schools; two of them had visual impairments, and the other two had hearing impairments. This was a first for the awards ceremony.
The 46 award winners “have all brought considerable joy and pride to their families, schools, communities, and to themselves, and it is only appropriate that they receive the plaudits of the nation,” according to President Akufo-Addo.
Describing education as not merely a privilege, whilst asking for a reflection on the crucial role that education plays in shaping the destiny of our nation, he said, “we now know that it is a fundamental right that empowers individuals, transforms societies, and propels nations towards progress and development.”
That is why, “the commitment of the Akufo-Addo government is not just a moral obligation but a strategic investment in the intellectual capital that will drive our economy and innovation in the years to come. Our children are the architects of our future, and their success depends on the solid foundation of quality education.
With greater emphasis on the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, he said “over the last seven (7) years, we have done a significant amount of work to boost education at the primary school level. In September 2017, we introduced a new curriculum for kindergarten to junior high school, that reflects the realities of our aspirations. The reforms have focused on the 3 Rs; Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and have laid greater emphasis on teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M).”
He went on, “This initiative is strengthening our young students’ foundational skills and generating interest in STEM education.” It has also made it possible to implement a national Standardized Test for numeracy and reading skills, which is administered at the primary school level.
In addition to other basic education interventions, he said that the government has assumed responsibility for paying all public school students’ BECE registration fees, ensuring that no student is prevented from writing the exam by financial constraints, as had been the case for many years. The introduction of several initiatives, including the Capitation Grant, Feeding Grants to Special Schools, and free BECE registration for students in public junior high schools, has greatly expanded access to basic education.
He went on to say that the Ministry of Education unceasingly collaborated with important development partners to introduce an avant-garde funding initiative known as the Ghana Educational Outcome Project (GEOP), even for those who still manage to elude the system and skip school entirely or quit out of primary school.
“The goal of GEOP is to provide educational support to seventy-two thousand (72,000) out-of-school children, helping them access complementary education and transition into formal schools. I am happy to report that seventeen thousand, three hundred and forty (17,340) out-of-school children have been taken through the programme and mainstreamed into formal schools in 2023. This programme has worked so well it won the GOVTECH PRIZE award in February 2024, at the World Government Summit held in Dubai,” he disclosed.
President Akufo-Addo stated that, “as has been the practice over the years, Junior High School students, who will be sitting for the BECE, will continue to be examined in at least one Ghanaian language,” following a meeting between the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, and the West African Examinations Council to clear up any confusion regarding the position of Ghanaian languages at the basic school level. Put another way, students will still be required to select at least one (1) Ghanaian language, which is an elective.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
