Some of the schools which had been completed are already in use, the Minister of Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum, has said.

He said the initiative, under the "Transformation Agenda" of the government, had come with a further investment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.

He said this last Friday at the ministry's maiden end-of-year thanksgiving service at the University of Professional Studies, Accra in Accra, where he touted the achievements of the free SHS policy.

The event was attended by the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, Dr Paul K. Boafo; a Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim-Fordjour; Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mamle Andrew, staff of the ministry, head teachers, teachers and students.

Defying gravity

Dr Adutwum said although some individuals objected to the implementation of the policy and continued to discredit it due to various hurdles, the government stood its ground, and was able to eventually “defy gravity”.

“The numbers tell you that if you are able to do enrolment in any country at the secondary level from 830,000 to now very close to 1.4 million, you have accomplished some greatness.

Thank God the President gave us the opportunity to implement innovative strategies which have enabled us to defy gravity,” he said.

Increased enrolment

Dr Adutwum said being able to increase enrolment, as well as recording positive outcomes in learning by virtue of the Free SHS, was an achievement that needed to be celebrated.

“We have increased enrolment, and at the same time we have increased learning outcomes.

We defied gravity as a nation, and we ought to be thankful to God for it.

If you are able to increase education outcomes when you increase enrolment at the same time, then something good is happening in your nation,” Dr Adutwum said. 

Affiliation

Dr Adutwum called for affiliation and collaboration between old and new public schools to enable them to tap from each other’s resources.

“We have taken the position that we can create more schools like Wesley Girls or Opoku Ware and Prempeh College, but in order for that to happen, we have to consciously ensure that we are affiliating the schools, whether they are new or existing schools, where we can bring two schools together to ensure that they work together.

“We should be able to replicate the Wesley Girls’ model at many schools across the country, and get Wesley Girls’ outcome, and I believe that the course of history of our nation will vindicate President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the immense investment that he is making in education,” he said.

“While we come here to thank God for a great job done in the WASSCE and all these innovations, you are going to hear other politicians who will say we have done nothing good in Ghana.

But thank God that many people are going to see that this nation is on the right path in the education sector, and we will stay on the right path,” the minister added.

Change of school uniforms

The Education Minister also hinted that his outfit had begun an initiative to change the junior high school uniforms from brown and yellow to black and white with a bow tie for both boys and girls for all public schools across the country.

He said the change of uniforms also formed part of the transformation agenda to ensure that “we get to a point where we can compete with the rest of the world”.
Some retired heads of schools were honoured for their contribution to the growth of education in the country.

They included former Headmistress of Wesley Girls SHS, Betty Dzokoto; Mrs Mercy Ocloo (Ahantaman Girls SHS), Joseph Connell (St Augustine’s College), Mary Bridget Ansong (Yaa Asantewa Girls) and Sylvia Isabella Laryea (Manfe SHS).