Deputy Minister for Education Rev. John Ntim Fordjour says he is poised to serve Ghana and Assin South Constituency most conscientiously as he is sworn in as Deputy Minister for Education.
“I’m grateful to the Lord Most High for His exceptional favor, and to His Excellency the President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the confidence reposed in me. In humility and poise, I do accept the responsibility to serve my country and constituents conscientiously. So help me God!” he posted on his social media handles shortly after the swearing in.
He was part of 38 other deputy ministers who were sworn into office by President Akufo-Addo on Friday evening.
“I set out on a political pursuit to serve the good people of Assin South… Now, duty calls and I’m privileged to serve the entire nation at the instance of the President. I’m indeed grateful to President Akufo-Addo for the confidence reposed in me,” Assin South MP noted.
At his vetting before Parliament’s Appointment Committee last month, Ntim Fordjour defended the NPP government’s Free SHS policy as a phenomenal pro – poor initiative that is greatly transforming the education sector.
“When the population is highly educated, it will be on the path of development. I have always been enthused about investments in free SHS. Many students are having access to quality education now,” he noted.
He said the key objectives of the Free SHS programme including access, equity, quality and relevance have been achieved to a large extent over the last 4 years. “All these 4 pillars are aligned to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 which is on access to quality education for all,” he observed.
“Access has been increased from 800,000 to 1.2 million; cumulatively 1.6 million enrolment. In terms of equity, there was 30% allocation to elite schools for students from public schools. That has ensured that a girl from a village like mine has access to Aburi Girls… The outcomes speak to the fact that the objectives are being achieved and we must sustain it,” Ntim Fordjour noted. “It is not to any political party’s credit. It is a real need that has been addressed,” he added.
Ntim Fordjour is hoping to draw on his expertise as economic policy analyst and engineer to support Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum to sustain Free SHS policy and to drive the education transformation agenda of President Akufo-Addo, particularly, expanding access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. “Every policy cycle has in itself monitoring and evaluation and formative reviews such that the objectives would have to be kept on track and deviating parameters are kept on track… So, we will continue monitoring so that any feedback that needs addressing, will be addressed with alacrity,” he said.
“I will support my minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum to build a solid education system and make Ghana the education hub of Africa,” Ntim Fordjour assured.
