President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that the government has taken the necessary steps to ensure that more children of school age have access to quality education at the senior high school (SHS) level.

He has, therefore, called on Ghanaians not to be worried and lose hope in the implementation of the free SHS policy, since the government is putting in place pragmatic interventions to surmount the challenges that have arisen as a result of the policy.

“I want you to rest assured that I won’t do anything that will compromise the quality of the country’s educational sector, particularly at the SHS level,” he said.

Church service

Addressing the congregation of the Emmanuel Methodist Church in Agona Swedru yesterday, as part of his four-day tour of the Central Region, President Akufo-Addo noted that with the introduction of the free SHS, more students have been admitted to the senior high school, and that every qualified child would be given the opportunity to have access to secondary education.

He said the government was in the process of recruiting an additional 8,000 teachers to shore up the number of teachers in the various SHSs across the country, saying: “This move is aimed at ensuring that more teachers are available to improve the standard of education at the SHS level.”

The President was accompanied by the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr John Boadu; the Minister of Transport, Mr Kwaku Asiamah; the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta; the Minister of Special Development Initiatives, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson; the Executive Chairman of the State Enterprises Commission (SEC), Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng; the Central Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr Robert Kutin; the Municipal Chief Executive for Agona West, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan; the MP for Agona West, Mrs Cynthia Morrison, other MMDCEs and party faithful.

Making education compulsory

President Akufo-Addo called for legislation that would make education up to the SHS level compulsory for every Ghanaian child, noting that “everyone must support efforts towards promulgating a law that will force every child to go to school”.

He noted that if such a law was enacted, it would enable the country to train the needed human resource required to transform all the sectors of the economy for the ultimate benefit of ordinary Ghanaians.

Fervent prayers

The President called on Christians to always remember him and the government in their prayers, since they needed both  physical and spiritual guidance to bring socio-economic development to the country.

“I entreat you to continue to pray for the government for direction, strength, courage and intelligence towards initiating the right steps that will improve the living conditions of the citizenry,” he told the congregation.

He added that the government valued the wise counsel of the clergy and would continuously engage them to improve the country.

Commitment to values

In a sermon on the theme: ‘Who do you say that I am?’, the Superintendent Minister of the Emmanuel Methodist Church, the Very Rev. Dr Jacob William Kwesi French, called on Ghanaians to be committed to the values of the nation to ensure its total transformation.

He admonished the congregation to espouse values such as credibility, respect and humility, since they were important pre-requisites towards the growth of the country.

He also called on the citizenry, especially those in leadership positions, to serve in their various portfolios in faithfulness and honesty to facilitate the progress of the nation.

On behalf of the church, the Very Rev. Dr French commended President Akufo-Addo for his exemplary leadership, as well as the implementation of policies and programmes tailored towards bringing relief to Ghanaians.

“Your leadership so far has given us hope and we have no doubt whatsoever that your intentions and actions today are intended to ensure a better future for the benefit of current and unborn generations,” he stressed.

Source: peacefmonline.com