Wondering who is in charge of the Ministry of Education, Ghana? This article will brief you on the life and achievements of the Honourable Minister of Education, Ghana.
Born on April 9, 1964, in Jachie, Ghana’s Ashanti Region, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has grown into a well cultured and goal driven man. His secondary education was at Kumasi High School in the Ashanti Region, Ghana. At the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, he earned a bachelor’s degree in land economy/business administration with a focus in real estate.
He further attended the University of La Verne, California where he obtained his master’s degree in Education Management and he also gained a PhD in Educational Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Southern California.
In Los Angeles, California, he founded the New Designs Charter Schools. He spent the ten years before this as a math and IT instructor at the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, California. He established the International Studies Academy at this time, which acted as a tiny learning community where students could flourish both academically and socially.
He was also a member of the task force assembled by the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education to create a national standard for career and technical education in American high schools and colleges.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo appointed Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum to the position of Deputy Minister for Education in March 2017. Due to his outstanding performance in 2019, the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) and FAKS Investigative Services selected him as the Best Performing Deputy Minister of the Year.
In the 7th Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, he represents the Bosomtwe Constituency in the Ashanti Region as a member of parliament and he is also a member of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee and the Works and Housing Committee.
He has come this far and had all the possibilities he has because of his education thereby causing himto have great passion and enthusiasm towards education.
In his idealized vision of Ghana, every child will have equal opportunities regardless of their circumstances, whether they are affluent or impoverished. He wants to improve Ghanaian education through access, equity, quality, and fairness. He thinks that a complete school reform, an emphasis on STEM/STEAM, and a revision of our curricula to make our graduates fit for purpose will drive Ghana’s socioeconomic development and, if done correctly, turn the country’s fortunes around.
He has an ambition that our educational system will be able to mold Ghanaians’ aspirations for the change that we all long for. According to him, schools must introduce and teach the 4Cs of the 21st Century Skills—Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication—if they are to prepare Ghanaian students for the workforce. We’ll come to understand this thanks to the reform of our curriculum.
Being trusted by the President, His Excellency, Nana Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, as the Minister of Education, he feels both honored and humbled by this.