Gov’t Procures 840 Pickup Trucks, 350 Buses, 2,000 Motorbikes For Education Ministry

The Vice President of the Repubclic, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has handed over 365 Double Cabin Pickup trucks and 493 motorbikes to officials of the Ministry of Education in fulfillment of President Akufo-Addo’s commitment to ensure that the education sector is adequately resourced to deliver improved learning outcomes.

The vehicles and motorbikes are part of a total of 840 trucks, 350 buses and 2,000 motorbikes procured by Government through GETFUND to retool and resource Ghana’s education sector.

260 of the pickups are being allocated to all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Education Offices to support their management and supervision roles.

The remaining 105 trucks will be distributed to the Ministry of Education and its various agencies including the National Inspectorate Board, National Council on Curriculum & Assessment (NaCCA), National Accreditation Board, Ghana Library Authority, Free SHS Secretariat, Council for Technical, Vocational Education & Training (COTVET), National Teaching Council, Centre for Distance Learning & Open Schooling (CENDLOSS), National Board for Professional & Technician Examination (NABTEX) and Non-Formal Education Division.

The Motorbikes are to be distributed to Circuit Supervisors in seven of the 16 regions, with the remainder, as well as rest of the pickups expected to arrive and subsequently distributed by the end of the month.

In addition, 350 buses (100 33-seater and 250 66-seater) will soon be distributed to Senior High Schools across the country to facilitate better teaching and learning outcomes.

Speaking at the handing-over ceremony in Accra on Thursday, 12th March, 2020, Vice President Bawumia reiterated the Akufo-Addo administration’s conviction that if Ghana is to make any headway in its quest for economic development and building a resilient and capable society, then we must pay particular attention to the development of human capital.

“Expanding the knowledge capability of citizens is not only good for our socio-economic development l, but it is also good for democracy and how we govern ourselves.

“This is what drives this government’s commitment to the education sector, to ensure that every Ghanaian child has the opportunity of quality education, no matter their family circumstances. Our Free SHS programme is hinged on this core belief and vision, that barrier-free access is particularly important in the drive towards an educated population” he emphasised.

Alluding to ongoing reforms in the education sector, Dr Bawumia indicated that President Akufo-Addo is conscious of the fact that it is not enough to simply put more children in school.

“There must be a clear and purposeful drive towards ensuring quality learning outcomes, and we are relentlessly pursuing that path, with a review of the KG to Primary Six curriculum, Teacher training reforms, and a more robust school inspection regime, among several other initiatives.

“In our education governance framework, a Director of Education is expected to carry out a vast range of tasks which include playing professional, administrative and other non-professional roles. Especially at the district level, the Director of Education plays a critical frontline role. We simply cannot ignore the education directorates in our efforts to resource pre-tertiary education in this country and subsequently improve learning outcomes.”

Vice President Bawumia pledged the Akufo-Addo Government’s continued investment in the education of its citizens, insisting that “it is the right thing to do.”

“We will continue to invest in our frontline managers of our educational institutions because they are central to any education reform we seek to pursue, and we must equip them with the necessary tools to enhance their work to enable them deliver their mandate in a more efficient manner responsive to the needs and challenges of the 21st century. We will not relent on this commitment.”