President Nana Akufo-Addo has called on Ghanaians to safeguard the gains made in the country’s educational system.

He said his administration considered the development of the human capital as the game changer in national development, hence prioritising education development as the “cornerstone of my government”.

President Akufo-Addo is credited with providing free senior high school education for all and, during a Thank-You tour of the Volta Region, asked voters to consider the continuity of the nation’s educational progress.

At the OLA Senior High School, he gave an account of his stewardship saying: “I have prioritised education development as the cornerstone of my government.”

“For the simple reason that in all the successful nations of the world – you look around you, whether in Asia, or in Western Europe, America, France Britain, in Asia, Korea, Japan, China, the fundamental pillar of their development has been the organisation of a modern educational system.”

“And it is important for us in Ghana to always have in mind that it is not necessarily the natural resources, the minerals of various sources a country is endowed with that guarantees its prosperity. If that was the case, we would have been wealthy many many years ago because nature has endowed us with a lot of resources.”

“It is not the fertility of the soil. Again, the soil of Ghana is very fertile. We can grow virtually everything here. It is the quality of the human capital. It is the development of the human capital that is the game changer.”

“And all these countries I have mentioned have recognised that that is the main priority; how to develop the human capital.”

President Akufo-Addo said the 12 billion cedis spent on the Free SHS programme was justified, and that it ended the wastage of human resources resulting from progressive implementation championed by the main political opponents.

From the rollout of the policy in 2017 to date, a total of 5.7 million young Ghanaians have benefited, causing the nation’s senior high school population to grow from 800,000 to 1.6 million.

There had been significant overall improvement in access and quality owing to the reforms and policies of the Government, which affected TVET and STEM education, he said.

President Akufo-Addo said the efforts led to the improvement in quality at the tertiary education level also and gave the assurance that a tertiary education masterplan would enhance the gross tertiary enrolment ratio from the current 18 per cent to 40 per cent by 2030.

He said as the nation approached the general election, continuity of the various gains should guide voter decisions, and that his successor should bear the commitment to securing the nation’s future in education.

“So, these are the reforms that have been made in my time as president, all of them towards preparing this country to be able to meet and successfully overcome the challenges of this 21st century. We cannot continue to be somewhere at the bottom of the ladder. We have to make the determined effort to join the people at the top, and we can’t do it unless we get our educational system right,” he said.

“Who is the person who will succeed me and make sure that the gains that we have made in education are consolidated and made standard?

“Who would be the person who has a clear grasp of what it takes to confront the fourth industrial revolution and thereby provide us the leadership that would enable us to succeed in this 21st century? These are the matters I came here to put before you for your consideration”.

The President enumerated various developmental programmes in health, agriculture and road and communication infrastructure.

He appealed to all to support Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), as he remained the superior choice among all contenders.

“In these 16 years that I have worked with Dr Bawumia, I have not had one single doubt in his quality. This is an honest man. He is a loyal man, and a man of enormous intellect, and his concern for Ghana is immense.”

“The decision we will make on December 7 is going to be one of the most consequential decisions that our generation of Ghanaians is going to be called upon to make. And that is why it is important that we bear in mind all the considerations that would enable us to make an informed choice.”

“I understand political allegiances and political loyalties, but at the same time I think there are moments when we have to look above the parapet and think of the long-term destiny of our country, and choose the right man.”

“I am confident, and I am saying so in all solemnity to the people of Ghana, that Mahamadu Bawumia is the man of destiny for our country.”