National Standardised Test to Ensure Robust Educational System-Adutwum
09-12-2021The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum on Thursday told Parliament no country in the 21st century can transform itself without a robust educational system that focuses on its human resource development.
He declared such an educational system must provide opportunities for all citizens to improve on themselves to help in the socio-economic development of the country.
The Minister affirmed the introduction of the National Standardised Test for pupils at the basic level in the country is as a result of government’s quest to build the much expected robust educational system.
He said the test does not only seek to improve learning outcomes but to also reduce learning poverty across the country and argued that pupils waiting eleven years before siting for their first national exams, Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), makes it too late to rectify the prevalent vast literacy poverty.
The Bosomtwe Constituency Member of Parliament said the good performance of students in this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) is indicative that Ghanaian teachers are among the best trained and dedicated in the world.
Dr Adutwum made these disclosures when he appeared in Parliament on Thursday December 09, 2021 to answer litany of questions relating to the performance of the Education Ministry by Honourable Members of Parliaments (MPs)
In answer to the MP for Builsa South Clement Apaak on when textbooks based on the new Standard Based Curriculum will be supplied to Basic Schools in the country, the Minister said the procurement process is ongoing and at final quality assurance stage.
This, he said, will lead to award of contract, once the procurement process are over for suppliers to deliver the textbooks to the Regional and District Education Offices for onward distribution to schools.
He proclaimed that the Scholarship Secretariat and GETFund between 2012 and 2020 granted 91,723 scholarships to Ghanaian individuals at various academic levels with the Scholarship Secretariat alone awarding a total of 88,140 scholarships made up of 6,517 foreign and 81,623 local.
Replying the MP for Adaklu Governs Agbodza in respect of the amount withdrawn out of USD 1.5 Billion approved by Parliament in 2018 for the GETFund to date, the Minister clarified that GHS 2,752,272.00 has been raised by the Fund representing USD 500 Million using the exchange rate at the time of registering the bond.
He said the amount was raised through a mix of syndicated loans and the bond programme and provided details with regards to who was paid with proceeds of the facility and categories of liabilities settlement.
The GETFund, he added, also awarded a total of 6,073 scholarships from 2012 to 2020 with 2,490 Ghanaians benefitting between 2012 and 2016 from the Fund while 3,583 scholarships comprising 679 foreign and 2,904 local scholarships were awarded between 2017 and 2020.
