Betty Set To Shake Education Ministry

Former Minister of Justice & Attorney Madam Betty Mould Iddrisu, who has just taken off as education minister is expected to take radical reforms at her new destination.

According to sources, the newly appointed minister of education will not tolerate any conservative approach to things at the ministry, which is said to be the centre for people who have adopted very lackadaisical attitude to doing things over the years.

A source close to her told The Catalyst over the weekend that among one of her top priorities is to see to it that workers of the education sector receive better salary in line with the Single Spins Salary Structure.

Betty, who is supposed to have good negotiating skills as per her international linkages and stature, and as a reputable lawyer, is expected to bring that expertise on board when she meets the radical and uncompromising groups within the education sector.
That ministry currently seats on a time-bomb with regards to the continuous delay on the SSSS. Identifiable bodies such as the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Tertiary Workers Union (TEWU), Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), National Union of Ghanaian Students (NUGS) and University Teachers Association (UTAG), are said to have taken a very entrenched positions when it comes to issues affecting them.
That has made some political pundits and policy analysts to opine that the education ministry is even more of a hotter place than the Attorney General's Department, hence Betty moving from frying pan to fire.
Government sources were optimistic Betty has the mettle to tackle the problems in order to achieve the education goals and objectives in the 'Better Ghana agenda.

The catalyst has learnt that some workers who have not proved to be productive will be affected by the Betty Mould 'tsunami' which is about to unleash. Some further say a taskforce will be constituted to monitor various agencies and bodies in the education sector.

Some unannounced visits to some of the agencies and educational institutions will also be undertaken by the versatile education minister.

President Mills last month in his action year moved Betty from being minister of justice and attorney general to head the education ministry. This was after she had a tortuous moment at her former post. There was enormous pressure on her to prosecute to be jailed suspected corrupt official of the former Kufuor regime. But she insisted on professionalism saying it is the wheel of justice that is grinding slowly. Betty, a lecturer in copyright, has an unalloyed love for academia and thus finds her new assignment interesting.