The office of former Education Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has escalated its response to what it calls “deliberate historical distortions” being pushed by associates of former Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.

According to Dr Prempeh’s camp, claims that Dr Adutwum spearheaded major curriculum reforms, teacher training transformation, and the turnaround in WASSCE performance are factually wrong and undermine the work of dozens of education agencies that delivered these reforms before 2021.

This latest clarification dismantles three key claims: curriculum reform, teacher education restructuring, and the improvement in Integrated Science pass rates.

Curriculum reforms were designed and completed before 2021

The statement stresses that Ghana’s most sweeping curriculum reforms in decades were already completed under Dr Prempeh.
Key timelines include:

2018: Launch of the Standards-Based Curriculum for KG and Primary.

2019: Full implementation of the new KG and Primary curriculum.

2020: Finalisation of the Common Core Curriculum (CCC) for JHS and SHS 1.

These landmark reforms, it notes, were executed through the coordinated work of NaCCA, NaSIA, GES, and other sector agencies.

Teacher training transformation started long before Adutwum became Minister

Dr Prempeh’s office also rejects suggestions that the teacher training overhaul originated after 2021.

It points out that the transition from the Diploma to the four-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in Colleges of Education took effect in 2019, well before Dr. Adutwum assumed full ministerial leadership.

The reform was implemented with strong technical support from T-TEL, and forms the backbone of Ghana’s modern teacher education system.

WASSCE integrated science pass rates improved before 2021 — WAEC data confirms

To counter assertions about WASSCE gains under Dr. Adutwum, the statement cites verified WAEC statistics:

2016: 26.7% pass rate in Integrated Science

2019: 62.94% pass rate

“These remarkable improvements happened before 2021,” the statement emphasises, describing them as the result of systemic reforms, not individual political credit-taking.

“Give Credit Where It Is Due”

The release concludes with a strong caution against attempts to reassign the achievements of the education sector’s workforce:

“Over 20 agencies contributed to these reforms. Their work must be acknowledged, not rewritten for political convenience.