Stakeholders welcome Education, Gender ministers designate

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has welcomed the nomination of former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, as the Minister for the Ministry of Education, saying that he has the experience to lead the sector.

Similarly, the Ark Foundation and Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) have called on the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection designate, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, to collaborate and work closely with women’s rights groups and civil society organisations to achieve the desired impact at the portfolio.

GNAT said Mr Iddrisu knew the terrain very well, having previously served as the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations.

It consequently expressed the hope that under his tenure, the challenges confronting the education sector would be addressed.

The General Secretary of GNAT, Thomas Musah, said this shortly after Mr Iddrisu was nominated as the Minister of Education by President John Mahama yesterday.

Mr Iddrisu, currently the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, and 11 others were yesterday nominated to ministerial positions, including three regional ministers designate, by the President.

Nomination

Mr Musah stressed that the nomination of Mr Iddrisu was in the right direction and that he was comforted under the man whose activities as a student leader culminated in the establishment of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

He said it was during his era as the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) that there were some demonstrations when the management of the University of Ghana wanted to introduce the academic facility user fees and “at the end of the day, we advocated an education fund which culminated in the GETFund”.

Mr Musah said Mr Iddrisu had gained experience by being both in and out of government while he had been an MP for 20 years, adding that “I don’t think it should be a difficult thing at all for him (to handle)”.

Challenges

Today, he said, the education sector was confronted with various challenges, including the capitation grant being in arrears, the government’s indebtedness to the West African Examinations Council and caterers of the school feeding programme at the basic level.

“Haruna Iddrisu has been the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations before; he has worked in that space for a very long time,” he said, adding that he had worked with union leaders in the country, and so there was no public sector he had not engaged before.

He said succeeding at the ministry would be one of the great legacies Mr Iddrisu would leave for himself.

Mr Musah said the President had offered Mr Iddrisu one of the greatest opportunities in life, and that it was a glorious opportunity to bring his experience to bear on the country now and in the future.

He said should Mr Iddrisu — whom he had known since 1990 — succeed, he would have carved a nice career for himself.

Gender Minister nominee

NETRIGHT and the Ark Foundation urged the minister nominee to prioritise the full implementation of the Affirmative Action Law.

Describing the nominee as an ally, who had previously worked with them and other civil society organisations, the two bodies expressed their commitment to support her to promote women’s rights and gender equality in the country.

In separate interviews with the Daily Graphic, the organisations expressed high hopes and expectations of the incoming minister. 

NETRIGHT

The Head of NETRIGHT, Patricia Blankson-Akakpo, said implementing the Affirmative Action Law was a crucial step to increasing women’s representation and opportunities in all sectors.

“This time, we would like to see an open-door policy where women’s rights groups can engage regularly with the minister to push for common goals,” she added.

Mrs Blankson-Akakpo also urged the new minister to ensure that the government delivered on its promises to women in the country.

She called on the minister designate to uphold efforts to meet the government’s promise of ensuring 30 per cent representation for women across all areas. 

Ark Foundation

The Executive Director of Ark Foundation, Dr Angela Dwamena Aboagye, also stressed the need for effective leadership across all departments, secretariats and units under the ministry.

She said the ministry must focus on key social protection initiatives such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme and support for persons with disabilities.

She called for consultations with agencies and organisations already working in these areas to maximise impact and avoid duplicating efforts.

Dr Dwamena Aboagye emphasised that the ministry must prioritise stakeholder reliance to conduct the groundwork while maintaining a central coordinating role.

“We want a ministry that focuses on coordinating and mainstreaming efforts across sectors, ensuring policies and programmes benefit women, children and vulnerable groups. This includes ensuring mainstreaming in education, health, fisheries and local governance,” she noted.

She advocated the elevation of the ministry to Cabinet level, saying, “this would make it easier to understand and integrate with other sectors”.