Expose Youth to sound Doctrines - Minister

Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary has tasked Muslim leaders to ensure that the youth were exposed to sound doctrines that would guide them in decision making.

He expressed concern that Ghana has currently lost two students to the ISIS group and urged all to ensure that investment in education would not lead to students being radicalized.

Mr Ablakwa made the appeal when he launched an education partnership between the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) and Zakat and Sadaqa Trust Fund in Accra on Thursday.

The Zakat and Sadaqa Trust Fund seek to provide financial support to needy but brilliant students as well as improve Muslim students’ enrolment in schools especially at the Tertiary level.

The fund would guarantee students’ loan for Muslim students in tertiary education nationwide commencing 2015 /2016 academic year.

The Deputy Minister noted that the country will not have had its investment in education well spent if students were radicalized and called on stakeholders to come together and find ways of working with institutions to nib issues in the bud.

On gender parity, Mr Ablakwa noted that it was dwindling at the Junior and Senior High School and Tertiary levels.

“At the tertiary level, the gender parity is now 70:30 ratio but we are targeting 60:40 as endorsed in the nation’s policy document.”

He noted that Ghana had achieved gender parity at the Basic level but regretted that the number of girls was reducing as they climb up the educational ladder.

The Deputy Minister urged the Board of the Zakat and Sadaqa Trust Fund to target the girl child in order to beef up the gender parity at the tertiary level.

Mr Ablakwa noted that the era where girls were asked to stay at home and allow only boys to go to school was discriminatory adding that practice should not be allowed to continue.

He recalled that despite the various social interventions rolled out to people to be educated and the allocation of six billion Ghana cedis to the Education Ministry annually, stories of people dropping out of school because they are unable to pay their fees are rampant.

Mr Ablakwa therefore urged stakeholders to continue to provide interventions to needy people in society in order to break all barriers in life.

He appealed to beneficiary of the fund to pay back so that other people could also access the fund.

The Deputy Minister was happy government and religious groups were partnering in providing education for all and called on heads of institutions not to increase fees at the tertiary level.

Sheik Armiyawo Shaibu, Chief Executive of Zakat and Sadaqa Fund noted that the partnership was going to bring relief to those who go through the ordeal of providing three guarantors when accessing the Students Loan.

Sheik Shaibu said the fund was going to empower women and address needs of orphans and the depressed in Muslim communities.

Ms Sheila Yaa Boamah, Chief Executive Officer of SLTF, noted that under the partnership over 900 persons have so far benefitted.

Mr Alhassan Andani, Board Chairman of Zakat and Sadaqa Fund noted that with the emergence of the fund, every Muslim child should benefit from it.