Government committed to reforming education- President

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said government is committed to reforming education at all levels in the country.

He said it was not sufficient for any college to produce clever graduates, but also honest men and women who could be trusted in both public and private lives and work judiciously to improve the educational standard in the country.

He said this in a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy of Minister Education, in charge of Planning, at the 22nd Congregation of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), at Winneba.

A total of 4,882 students of the various faculties of the Winneba and Ajumako Campuses, who successfully completed their courses, were graduated.

President Akufo-Addo said the Ministry of Education had embarked on a review of the legal, institutional and regulatory framework of various agencies to enable them to perform their mandates efficiently.

“Specifically, the National Council for Tertiary Education Act 454 (1993) and the National Accreditation Board Act 744 (2007) are currently under review”.

He said successive governments had been confronted with the challenge of inadequate funding for higher education, saying as part of efforts to address these challenges; the government had committed itself to establish a Research Fund, purposely to fund relevant and specific research work in tertiary institutions.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said quality education delivery was fundamental to the growth of a nation, and tasked the UEW to be at the forefront of cutting edge research that would ensure improved quality outcomes in the teaching and learning environment.

He mentioned the government’s flagship free Senior High School policy, which was rolled out in September this year, saying that, the policy would particularly assist children, who otherwise would have been denied the opportunity of a SHS education, because of the financial circumstances of their families.

He said an amount of GHC 255 million, representing 32.33 per cent of the total GETfund has been allocated to the tertiary sector for execution of priority projects, to enable them prepare to accommodate the expected increased demand in their institutions, in respect of the Free SHS policy, so that Ghanaians, who seek higher education in the public universities would not be deprived of the opportunity.

The President reminded the graduates to be mindful of the knowledge they had acquired from UEW and exhibit honesty and trust worthiness, as well as being sensitive to the plight of their fellow human beings.