Claim Dr. Adutwum sidelined technical expertise as Education Minister mischievous — Spokesperson

Yaw Opoku Mensah, the Spokesperson for former Education Minister and NPP flagbearer hopeful Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has dismissed claims that his boss sidelined technical expertise during his tenure at the Ministry of Education.

The reaction follows comments by Dr. Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, a former Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in charge of Quality and Access, who alleged that Dr. Adutwum’s leadership style undermined the effective implementation of the Free SHS policy.

Dr. Tandoh argued that unlike his predecessor, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Dr. Adutwum failed to listen to technical advice, leading to some of the programme’s shortfalls.

However, in a statement sighted by ModernGhana News, Mr. Opoku Mensah described the claims as “mischievous” and “a clear misrepresentation,” insisting that Dr. Adutwum remains one of Ghana’s most impactful Education Ministers.

“It must be emphasized that the Chief Technical Advisor to the Minister for Education has always been the Chief Director of the Ministry, ably supported by agency heads. To suggest otherwise betrays a lack of appreciation of how the Ministry functions,” he noted.

He highlighted several reforms spearheaded by Dr. Adutwum, including the Double Track system, the introduction of STEM initiatives, the rollout of the National Standardised Test, and the retooling of TVET institutions, which he said positioned Ghana’s education system as a continental model.

Mr. Opoku Mensah further rejected attempts to blame Dr. Adutwum for operational challenges such as food distribution under Free SHS, stressing that those were under the mandate of the National Buffer Stock Company and the Ministry of Finance.

“Indeed, but for the competence, foresight, and commitment of Dr. Adutwum, Free SHS would not have earned Ghana continental recognition,” the statement said, pointing to Ghana’s second-place ranking on the Mo Ibrahim Index on Quality Education in 2024.

He also suggested that Dr. Tandoh’s comments carried political undertones, given his open alignment with a preferred candidate in the NPP’s flagbearer race.