The immediate past Deputy Minister for Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has dismissed government’s decision to hold a National Education Forum.
According to him, the forum is only a waste of time and “Ghana’s precious resources.”
In an interview on Channel One, Ntim Fordjour demanded the need for the forum and indicated that the Mahama administration should go ahead to implement its proposed education policies promised in its manifesto.
“I must say that we do not need a national education forum to be able to set a vision for President Mahama because, as a president having ample time to campaign, having set out a team to draft your manifesto, it is supposed that within that period your vision is cut out,” Fordjour stated.
The MP motioned that President Mahama made specific promises to voters regarding the education sector, and what is now expected is the translation of those manifesto promises into actionable policies.
“They (Ghanaians) want to see how that finds expression in the budget statement that is going to be presented,” he noted.
The former deputy minister also argued that the forum would be redundant, given the existence of a comprehensive education strategic plan put in place since 2018, which spans from 2018 to 2030.
“What they are going to do is nothing new. It is going to be a waste of time and waste of Ghana’s precious resources,” he asserted.
Fordjour explained that the strategic plan, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was developed with input from various stakeholders, including renowned educationists, professors, civil society organisations (CSOs), and both local and international development partners.
He charged the Mahama administration to focus on executing the strategic plan put in place by the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration and fulfill the promises made during the campaign.
