Dr. Yaw Adutwum (left) addressing the media
DEPUTY EDUCATION Minister Dr. Yaw Adutwum has stressed that government, through the Education Ministry, is not considering privatising public basic schools.
He said emphatically that “once again, let me emphasise, for the avoidance of doubt, the ministry is not considering privatising public basic schools, nor does it intend to do so.”
Dr. Adutwum made this known at a press conference on Thursday in Accra, contrary to claims that government was seeking to privatise public basic schools under the Ghana Partnerships Schools (GPS).
According to him, government has not finalised the GPS which seeks to “address the learning challenge in schools where performance has been very poor over the years.”
He said, “It must be noted that the ministry is pursuing a series of reforms to comprehensively address learning in our schools.”
The deputy minister added that “this includes curriculum reforms, teacher training reforms and GES institutional reforms, among others.”
According to him, the ministry believed that it was important to consider all options in seeking to turn around learning outcomes in public basic schools, “and the GPS is one of such options in seeking to improve leadership and management of our schools.”
He added that “such partnerships are a common feature of several educational jurisdictions, where non-state actors are brought into low-performing public schools to provide management and leadership services.”
Dr. Adutwum indicated that “we are, therefore, leaving no stone unturned in examining the range of options available that will turn around poor learning outcomes in basic schools in this country.”
BY Melvin Tarlue