No plans to eliminate single-sex schools - Education Ministry

The Ministry of Education has denied allegations of government intending to eliminate single-sex schools in the country.

The denial was contained in a statement by the Head of Public Relations Unit at the Education Ministry, Ekow Vincent and follows claims attributed to the Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah alleging that the government is planning to abolish the single-sex education system.

The Ministry of Education's press release insisted the statement is false.

“Let me hasten to add that this statement is false and must be treated with the contempt it deserves”, the statement by Ekow Vincent said.

It said however that the government is looking forward to increasing the girl child education and investing more as far as the study of Science, technology, engineering and science is concerned.

"The President Akufo-Addo led government is committed to ensuring that girl child education remains a priority on the developmental agenda of our country.” the statement added.

The statement therefore admonished individuals to bring to the ministry their concerns and doubts for redress.

Prof Yankah's reaction

Meanwhile, Professor Kwesi Yankah reacting to the issue has explained that he was at the KNUST in Kumasi last Friday, to find out for himself, what was happening on the ground and have a dialogue with management, students and faculty together.

"I wasn't expecting this outcome, saying that, I made a policy statement that the Ministry was planning for all single-sex halls of residences to be converted to mixed gender situations.

"I was really shocked to hear this, because I have not said this anywhere ... it is untrue, it cannot be true and it is even unthinkable," he said in a radio interview with Accra based Citi FM.

On the plans of the KNUST to convert single-sex residential halls into mix ones, Prof Yankah said he "certainly" support that move "in the face of the challenges that we are facing, and in the face of the fact that the school didn't have the resources to start constructing a new female hall at this particular moment."

"The idea is to get the other halls of residence to adjust themselves just like the University of Ghana did when Legon Hall and Akuafo Hall were exclusively female, exclusively male halls, but when the gender numbers, particularly the female numbers started rising, we quickly adjusted ourselves and in Legon Hall there was no noise making, Akuafo Hall there was no noise making. So it is dependent on the exigencies of the time that KNUST responded and I congratulate them for a very progressive move."