Hon Ntim Fordjour, former Deputy Minister for Education
Haruna Iddrisu Goofed, Promises what already exists-Hon Ntim Fordjour
The immediate past Deputy Minister for Education, Hon. Ntim Fordjour, has dismissed a promise made by the current Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, to implement a standardized test model for basic schools in Ghana 🇬ðŸ‡.
Speaking on Neat FM, Hon. Fordjour expressed surprise that the Minister appeared unaware that such a system already exists in Ghana’s educational framework.
He noted that aside from reviewing his handing-over notes, the Minister should have been briefed about the National Standardized Test (NST) for Basic Schools, which the Ministry began implementing in 2021.
“It is surprising that my brother Haruna Iddrisu, while speaking to the media, promised to introduce something that the Ministry is already implementing. This is quite embarrassing,” the former Deputy Minister stated.
Background
The World Bank, having identified that children between the ages of 2 and 10 in Sub-Saharan Africa were struggling with reading and writing, decided to launch a project to address the issue.
This initiative also considered the importance of ensuring that these children could write basic numbers and recite or read the English alphabet.
In Ghana, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), a statutory body responsible for developing standards for curriculum, assessment, and reporting in pre-tertiary education, introduced the National Standardized Test (NST).
Since its introduction in 2021, the test has helped improve literacy and numeracy skills in Ghana, with six (6) out of every ten (10) basic school pupils now able to read and write.
As of 2024, the Ministry had set a target to achieve a 90% literacy and numeracy rate among basic school students.
Advice
Meanwhile, Hon. Fordjour has urged the NDC government to seek guidance and clarifications regarding the existing educational system and curriculum.
According to him, this would prevent them from either duplicating existing programs or making promises about initiatives that are already in place and benefiting Ghanaian students.
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