Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has dismissed suggestions that he needs advice from his predecessor, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, to address challenges confronting Ghana’s education sector.
The Tamale South MP questioned what guidance Dr Adutwum could offer, arguing that he left behind what he described as a “despondent” educational system when the NPP administration left office.
Mr. Iddrisu’s comment follows a recent interview during which Dr. Adutwum said he remained available to share his experience with Haruna Iddrisu whenever needed.
“We are good friends. He can call on me anytime he is in need of anything in terms of running the education system,” he reportedly stated on AssasePa.
However, in an interview on Accra-based TV3, Mr. Iddrisu challenged the value of such advice.
“So, when he says, ‘Come to me for advice,’ what advice? Advice that you left a despondent educational system is what President Mahama inherited,” he said.
The Education Minister cited infrastructure challenges and difficulties in feeding students under the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme as some of the problems he said characterised the previous administration’s management of the sector.
He claimed that food shortages under the previous administration had on several occasions forced schools to shut down.
“You left an educational system in crisis with its infrastructure, an educational system that could not feed students. In the government most popular flagship of Free SHS, and under his supervision, there were many times schools were closed down because of shortage of food; that has not happened under Minister Haruna Iddrisu,” he noted.
According to Haruna Iddrisu, the situation has improved under the Mahama administration following the decision to uncap the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and allocate funding towards feeding students.
“Students are being well fed. Thanks to President Mahama’s uncapping the GETFund and dedicating financing to feed them. So, there has been an improvement,” he added.
He also rejected the suggestion that Dr Adutwum could advise him on how to end the double-track system in senior high schools.
“Am I going to go to Minister Adutwum to seek advice to end double track? When he invented double track and knows the consequences of double track on the quality of education? Should I go for advice on that? Interesting times,” the Minister said.
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