Floreat Akufo-Addo: A reply to the surfeit of bitterness

Your Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,

Today May 29, 2021 marks an important day in the history of Ghana. It is a day that the University of Cape Coast popularly known as the University of Choice has taken the burden of appreciation owed you by Ghanaians to confer on you a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Leadership (Honoris Causa) in recognition of your leadership and support for the educational sector in Ghana. This indeed is an occasion worthy of celebration and as a young man in the field of academia, I join the grateful Ghanaian youth to congratulate you on this achievement. I congratulate the University of Cape Coast for honoring you on behalf of the Ghanaian youth and elderly who are joint beneficiaries of your visionary investments in the educational sector.

Mr. President, even in times of joy like these when no two horns should lock over, I believe it will come to you as no surprise that someone of your acquaintance who has over the years proven to be motivated by bitterness against you is out there propagating unsubstantiated claims. In his article titled “A surfeit of dodgy honorary doctorates” which I will prefer to call “A surfeit of bitterness”, Mr. Haruna Atta regurgitates his long-held disapproval of anything Akufo-Addo but this time in a dangerous fashion where he visibly attacked the prestigious University Council of the University of Cape Coast for awarding what he calls a “scandalous” doctorate to someone (you) he claims is directly responsible for a so called “mess in Ghana’s educational sector”. Knowing his affinity to launch baseless attacks at you, I least expected him to provide proof for his claims. But for the sanctity of the Presidency, revered University Council and the importance of the topic of education to the youth of Ghana, I kept on reading hoping to find a single evidence of the so called “mess in Ghana’s educational sector” but to no avail.

Your Excellency, thanks to the massive investments your Government has made in the educational sector, a good number of the Ghanaian youth are very discerning. They are able to decipher between an empty surfeit of bitterness from the massive development that the educational sector has received since you became President.

Mr. President, for the avoidance of doubt, you deserve much greater awards, if any exists, for your unmatched role in developing and promoting the educational sector of Ghana. I have no doubt that even if this generation of ours fails to acknowledge you in this regard, future generations of Ghanaian youth will sing your name in praise for the legacy you have left for them.

Your Excellency, I am not sure if Mr. Haruna Atta returned from Namibia after serving as High Commissioner because if he did, he would have been brought up to speed with the implementation of the free senior high school education which is the biggest social intervention program since independence. The success of this program has not only brought smiles to faces of parents and children in Ghana but also brought pride to our dear Nation when the first batch of students under the program performed creditably well at the WASSCE exams to the admiration of our neighboring countries. Today, no child will be left at home because of parents/guardians inability to pay school fees.

Sir, the successful implementation of this single policy should be enough reason to make even a reasonable bitter opponent shy away from describing the educational sector as a “mess”. But there is much more to your investments in education which cannot be enumerated here for the sake of brevity. For instance, the restoration of teachers training allowance coupled with the introduction of the 4-year basic education degree is something that will significantly make the educational system strong. Also, the requirement of teachers to pass a professional licensing exam before being approved to teach is a policy that will ultimately improve the standards in the educational sector. All these projects/policies are key determinants of quality and were implemented by your Government.

Furthermore, the implementation of the Basic, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (BSTEM) at all basic education with the establishment of key STEM centres across the country is an investment that will positively impact the quality of education of our children. Your Government has also focused massively on improving Technical and Vocational Education Training which was hitherto not given much attention by the previous Government.

These achievements and many more in a space of 4 years of your Government call for commendation and support from the citizenry and not dispraise. At this rate, I strongly believe the educational sector in Ghana at the end of your tenure and a much anticipated breaking of the 8 by the NPP will compete with top educational systems across the globe. It is only then that the cynics and pessimists will appreciate the full extent of investments that your Government has done for the country.

Mr. President, please accept my congratulations once again and remain blessed!

Written by:

Dr. Issah Imoro

( issahwuni@gmail.com )

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