President Akufo-Addo has said that the government is working tirelessly to address the end illiteracy in the country.
He said the government is among other things doing its best ensure that each Ghanaian child attains a minimum of secondary education.
In an address at a UNICEF/AAE event in the US, Akufo-Addo bemoaned the increasing numbers of children who have to drop out of school globally.
He indicated that it was important that the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation and UNICEF steps in to end the trend and bring the world closer to the realization of Sustainable Development Goal No. 4.
“With 63 million children in the world, between the ages of 6 to 11, currently out of school, President Akufo-Addo noted that EAA and UNICEF will help bridge that gap, and draw us closer to the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal No. 4, which enjoins us to help ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Akufo-Addo said, “for us in Ghana, the Capitation Grant, introduced some 13 years ago, under the administration of that far-sighted Ghanaian statesman, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, the 2nd President of Ghana’s 4th Republic, is, presently, enabling six million, three hundred and seventy-one thousand, nine hundred and seventy-five (6,371,975) school-going children, representing some 90% of school-going children in Ghana, to enjoy fee-free education in our basic schools.”pre
He further indicated that his government’s Free SHS program introduced in 2017 had increased Senior High School enrollment by 90,000.
“The Free Senior High School Policy, introduced by my Government in September last year, has put ninety thousand (90,000) more students into Senior High School in 2017, than in 2016. Our goal is to guarantee every Ghanaian child a minimum of secondary school education. It is the hope of every mother and father, not only in Ghana, that education will help their children escape poverty, and provide them with the avenue to a good life,” Akufo-Addo said.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citinewsroom.com/Ghana