The Deputy Minister of Education designate, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, has said that the government will address challenges affecting the smooth running of the free senior high school programme.
He reaffirmed the government’s position that the free SHS had come to stay and would, therefore, not be cancelled, but improved upon.
Dr Apaak urged parents and guardians to embrace the programme for the benefit of their children wards.
He also implored them to ensure that their girl-child benefitted from the initiative.
Advertisement
The deputy minister designate, who is also the Member of Parliament for Builsa South in the Upper East Region, said this when he appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee in Accra yesterday.
STEM education
On the state of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the country, Dr Apaak said it was encouraging.
He described STEM as the future and said that the previous government had done well by investing in the sector, adding that as a member of the Education Committee in the Seventh and Eighth parliaments, he sat through meetings and presentations, and participated in the approval of facilities to promote STEM education.
“If we are to make progress as a nation and participate fully in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we must continue to invest in STEM and expand facilities to ensure that every child benefits from STEM education.
“We will reach out to bilateral and multilateral partners, as well as donor organisations for the needed support,” Dr Apaak added.
He further said that there were some 413 SHSs currently running the double track system, adding that there were 709 SHSs and 241 technical, vocational, education and training (TVET) schools across the country.
On the issue of centralised procurement for second cycle schools, the nominee said as far as decentralising procurement would be to the collective benefit of the people, “I will not have challenges suggesting to my minister to consider that”.
Dr Apaak said his outfit would also ensure that there were adequate textbooks in schools, including digital technology for teaching and learning.
PTA
The deputy minister designate also described parent-teacher-associations (PTAs) as very useful, saying that the benefits of the association were the reasons why the government had decided to reinstate them in schools.
He said that PTAs had contributed to building infrastructure in schools to improve teaching and learning.
“We know of instances where PTAs have even procured vehicles to facilitate transportation of students. And indeed in many cases, they also contributed to procuring furniture for schools.
“Even in instances where some students misconducted themselves or exhibited deviant behaviour they were able to address some of those challenges.
“So, I believe very strongly that the benefits of PTAs justify the decision by the current government to reinstate it,” Mr Apaak said.
Under the previous administration, it was turned to parents association (PA) but had since been reverted to PTA by the current government.
