Two hundred university graduates are currently undergoing a six-weeks training programme in order to equip them with skills and content knowledge to be able to effectively teach in 50 Senior High Schools (SHS) across the country.
The graduates would be expected to teach Mathematics, Science, English, and Information and Communication Technology in SHS in rural and underserved communities in the country for two years through Leadership Development Fellowship.
The training is being carried out by Lead for Ghana (LFG), not-for-profit organisation, established to ensure that all children in Ghana get the opportunity to access an excellent education.
The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, in a speech read on his behalf, commended LFG for being at the forefront of a significant transformation in the educational landscape.
“Through your diligent efforts, the initiative has not only helped to address the teacher shortage in our rural and underserved communities, but has also introduced a paradigm of passion, dedication, and excellence in education.
“Our youth are waiting, eager to learn, and hungry for guidance. They represent diverse backgrounds, dreams, and hopes – and it’s our collective responsibility to provide them with the best opportunities possible,” he said.
Dr Adutwum noted that education is a potent tool for societal transformation, adding that in a rapidly globalising world, the demand of the 21st century required people to be innovative, critical thinkers, and proactive problem solvers.
“As we embark on this ambitious project of posting fellows to Senior High Schools, we aim to elevate our standards of education and provide our students with a competitive edge on the global stage,” he said
According to Dr Adutwum, the government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Education, remained committed to supporting of the initiatives such as those of LFG.
“We envision a future where every Ghanaian child, irrespective of their socio-economic background, has access to quality education. With LFG taking the helm in Senior High Schools, I am confident that we are several steps closer to realising this dream,” he said.
The Chief executive officer of LFG, Mr Daniel Dotse, said the training programme would equip fellows with pedagogical skills and content knowledge, to bolster their teaching proficiency to enable them to teach effectively.
“The reason we do this is because we want the next generation of leaders in this country to really understand the challenges within educational ecosystem. After the two years when they start getting into leadership positions across all sectors in the country, the decisions they make and the policies they make will come from experience and not necessarily from theory,” he said.
Mr Dotse said Ghana’s youth held the solution to the country’s greatest challenges such as the provision of quality education to all children in Ghana.
“With this firm believe, we adopt a multifaceted approach to tackle the challenges of educational inequality and improve student academic outcomes and mindset in Ghana, which translates to creating access to meaningful jobs for the youth and the long term effect of poverty reduction”, he said
Mr Dotse said LFG’s infrastructure development was rooted in providing conducive and safe environments that foster learning and mindset development for students and communities.
By Agnes Opoku Sapong
