The UN Resident Coordinator, Mr Charles Abani, has lauded the government’s commitment to the free Senior High School (SHS)/Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) programme, despite the recent economic downturn.
He said this last Tuesday in a speech read for by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) representative, Mr Abdourahamane Diallo.
This was when personnel from the United Nations and the Ministry of Education visited some selected schools in Accra in commemoration of the 5th International Day of Education.
The Day enjoins countries to prioritise education to accelerate progress toward all the Sustainable Development Goals against the backdrop of a global recession, growing inequalities, and the climate crisis.
Mr Abani emphasised the need for stakeholders to work together to improve the country’s education sector to boost its human resources requirement.
This year’s celebration was on the theme “To invest in people, prioritise education.”
The team visited the St Thomas Aquinas SHS, Osu Presbyterian Basic School, and others to interact with students, teachers, and school management and inspire them to play their respective roles well to promote human resource development in the country.
Mr Abani said the UN would continue to support the country’s post-Covid-19 recovery efforts and in the implementation of the Education Strategic Plan 2018- 2030.
He further expressed the organisation’s admiration for Ghana’s budgetary support towards the education sector, on spending at least 23 per cent of the national budget over the medium term from 2021 to 2025.
Recounting the 2021 Global Education Summit in the United Kingdom, the UN Resident Coordinator reminded UN member states to ensure solid political mobilisation around education and chart the way to translate commitments and global initiatives into action.
He also stated that the UN would continue to provide platforms to mobilise existing and new actions, find innovative solutions and build partnerships to achieve Ghana’s proposed goals.
The Chief Director of the Ghana Education Service, Divine Ahejor, expressed the government’s commitment towards the improvement of the country’s education sector due to the enormous benefits to the country.
He encouraged the students to take their education seriously to justify the investment of the government and their parents in their education.
The UN team distributed stationery to the pupils to aid their academic work
BY YUNUSAH ESSANDOH & SONNY SEYRAM QUARTEY
