Ambassador John Benjamin in a discussion with Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh
Minister for Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, yesterday hosted two delegations from the French and British Embassies to discuss issues related to the country’s educational sector.
The two envoys and the educational minister discussed existing technical and policy support to the country’s educational sector.
Dr. Opoku-Prempeh acknowledged the task ahead of him in pushing the educational agenda of Ghana forward.
French Envoy
The Ambassador of France to Ghana, Francois Pujolas, in his remarks, highlighted the important role Ghana plays in regional integration to promote peace and development.
He, however, noted the importance of the French language to Ghana’s development in the sub-region.
Touching on French literacy in Ghana, Ambassador Pujolas said Ghana has improved in incorporating the French language into its educational system but disclosed that there was room for improvement.
He said the two countries signed an agreement last year to provide support for three educational components, adding that the French Government would do everything possible to boost bilateral cooperation with Ghana.
“We are committed to improving cooperation at the bilateral level but also at the multilateral level,” he declared.
On his part, Dr. Opoku-Prempeh, acknowledged the critical role language plays in bilateral relations, adding that President Akufo-Addo intends to promote the French language in the country as part of his foreign policy.
As a result, it’s the vision of the ministry that the learning of French would begin from the basic level where the child can easily grasp the language,” he added.
He said the country needs more support to fully integrate the French language by training qualified French teachers for the basic level and providing teaching and learning materials to supplement efforts of teachers.
British Envoy
During the meeting with Jon Benjamin, British High Commissioner to Ghana, Dr. Opoku-Prempeh commended the British people, stressing the critical role education plays in national development.
“We are proud to be one of Ghana’s main donor partners in general but specifically in the educational sector where contribution through various projects is around £10m from basic level,” he said.
He observed that the British government intends to continue its partnership, particularly through policy design and technical advice to rightly reflect Ghana’s development path.
“We are looking forward to complementing Ghana’s educational portfolio,” he added.
Dr. Opoku-Prempeh, on behalf of president, thanked the British people for their support over the years and prayed that it continues.
“This is the time of need, and we want our friends to be with us as we strive to improve the quality of education in the country,” he said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri