No Ghanaian student has ever questioned me in class - Education Minister bemoans 'timid' system.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, has lamented the current state of affairs in the education system, in which students are hesitant to question their teachers.
The Minister, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe, believes that reluctance must be eliminated if fully rounded children who are relevant to society are to be raised.
He stated in an address that none of his students had ever asked a question after he had taught and asked if they had any questions in all of the times he had visited schools back home and decided to teach.
"I go to school after school and speak with the students, and when I'm done, I ask who has a question for me?" There are no raised hands. In all of my encounters in Ghanaian classrooms, no one has raised their hand.
"We have tamed the children; we just want them to write down what we say; on exam day, we say you are the best student the country has ever known."
"That kind of education system is not going to get us critical thinking individuals, especially as we are in the twenty-first century, Education 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution," he emphasized.
He asserted that it is only through critical thinking students that poverty can be fought and defeated, and he further advocated for Ghanaian and African schools to adopt a "assertive curriculum."
"A curriculum that encourages African children to question authority and challenge the status quo." Respectfully within the African context, but not in a curriculum that instructs the African to be quiet and not speak when the adult is speaking," he added.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, September 20, at the United Nations Educational Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
"Speaking on behalf of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the launch of the report titled "Rewiring Education for People and Planet," I pointed out the need for a new way of working that reimagines education in a win-win partnership with the entire 2030 Agenda,” he posted on his social media handles.
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