The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has commenced a nationwide tour to acquaint himself with the operations of various agencies and institutions under the Ministry of Education following his assumption of office.

As part of this initiative, on February 12, Haruna Iddrisu paid a working visit to GITEC, where he held discussions with the institution’s management.

During the engagement, he listened to their concerns, including matters related to the passage of the Legislative Instrument (LI) under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020, which is crucial for streamlining regulatory functions within the sector.

“Once the law was passed, we were supposed to have an LI, I think, some 12 or 16 months after its passage. The bill was passed in 2020, and till now, we don’t have an LI. We have been able to put a draft together—if you can work to get the LI passed for us,” he said.

He further noted that GITEC oversees 72 institutions.

“We have about 72 public institutions under us. The councils have expired, and we are working very hard to get the composition of the councils done,” he added.

Haruna Iddrisu assured that he would engage with the President to ensure the appointment of university councils.

“With the support of the President, we will ensure the early composition of the university councils. I am only waiting for your letters of remission to the President, as the appointing authority, to exercise his power under Article 70 of the Constitution,” he stated.

The Minister also emphasized that universities would be granted academic freedom.

He assured that GITEC would have an LI before the end of the year.

“My assurance is that GITEC will have an LI before the end of this year, subject to Cabinet approval. Let me have the draft, and I will forward it to the Attorney General before the close of work on Friday. Once the Attorney General is satisfied with it, I will lay it before Parliament in accordance with Article 11 of the Constitution. You will need a mandate of 21 sitting days of Parliament, and then it can become law. Once your parent act supports it, you should have an LI,” he said.

The Minister also inspected the renovation of the conference center for GITEC before engaging with staff, who raised concerns about their conditions of service. He assured them that these concerns would be considered, subject to the Fair Wages and Salaries Act.

Additionally, he visited the Ghana Book Development Council and engaged with its management. He stressed the importance of instilling a reading culture among pupils.

He also urged that integrity and ethics be incorporated into early childhood training as part of efforts to promote patriotism.

“It is the desire and intention of the government to inculcate integrity and ethics as part of early childhood training, linked to patriotism as a value. Therefore, as you develop books, when people are trained to know what is morally acceptable and morally unacceptable, it is proper that they are introduced to integrity and ethics as part of their formative years of training. In the future review of the education curriculum, we will necessarily incorporate that for those in preschool, early childhood, and basic education going forward,” he said.

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