Matthew Opoku Prempeh – Minister of Education
THE MINISTRY of Education has signaled its strong intention not to back off on the planned partnership it seeks to establish with religious bodies and other private organizations in the provision of quality education to Ghanaians.
This follows sharp criticisms from the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition on March 4, 2019, which claimed that Government was seeking to privatize the country’s educational system.
In a statement issued by its Director of Communications, Ekow Vincent Assafuah, the Education Ministry recounted that “on the 4th of March 2019, the Ghana National Education Campaign coalition (GNEEC) addressed a press conference here in Accra and made statements in relation to certain critical issues, including a number of misrepresentations.”
According to the Ministry in the statement, “GNECC sought to create impressions as if they reflected the position of the Ministry of Education; key among them is what GNECC calls privatization of pre- tertiary education.”
“Over the years”, the statement noted, “the Ministry has had a cordial partnership with GNECC as an important stakeholder in education.”
It said “indeed, the President of GNECC sits on the Ministerial Advisory Board. However, the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition ( GNECC ) chose to address a press conference on an issue that is non-existent.”
The statement added that “it must be put on record that when the Ministry met GNECC in 2018, the discussion was on partnership schools and not privatisation of schools.”
It indicated “the government has never contemplated privatization of schools. In its 2016 manifesto, page 108, which reads “We will build an effective partnership with religious bodies, civic organizations and the private sector in the delivery of quality education.”
It noted that “this partnership will also include areas of management, supervision and training of teachers in their units.”
The Ministry wants to indicate that, discussions are advanced and ongoing with religious bodies and it seek an appropriate regulatory framework to enable this manifesto pledge to be fulfilled, according to the statement.
It said “the ministry challenges GNECC to provide evidence to the privatization claim in their press conference.”
It noted, “the Ministry is particularly surprised by the conduct of the President of GNECC, who sits on the Ministerial Advisory Board and therefore has easy access to senior management for cross-checking information that may have come his way.”
“It is the Ministry’s position that the GNECC President must either substantiate his privatisation claim or choose the honourable
path of an unqualified apology and an introspection over whether his position on the Ministerial Advisory Board remains tenable.”
BY Melvin Tarlue