March 8, 2017
Ghana’s Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, spoke on sustainable education at the Convergence of Sustainability forum held at Ashesi.
The forum, organized by UturnAfrica and supported by leading tertiary institutions including Johns Hopkins University and the University of Houston, explores models of building connections between sustainability, social and environmental impact, and economic empowerment. The forum also brings together experts, thought-leaders and professionals in the industry to engage millennials in establishing sustainable leadership for the African continent.
“By engaging the current and next generation of leaders, we expect to develop individuals whose mindsets are hardwired to consider the implications of their actions on well-being of their ecosystem, which includes their own personal and economic well-being; and their community and environmental well-being,” shared Doyin Oluntona, co-founder of UturnAfrica.
Speaking as part of a panel discussion, Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh shared the value of implementing a well-rounded basic education system.
“My focus as a minister is to reengineer the basic education curriculum to focus on the fundamentals that can be built upon as lifelong learning,” he shared. “Historically, the whole point about education is to be an apprentice; to follow somebody to obtain craftsmanship. So whether it was in metal works or in philosophy, it involved mentorship to gain hands-on knowledge. We need to revisit this hands-on nature, so besides the reading, arithmetic and writing, we need to encourage creativity.”
The minister also touched on streamlining technical education in Ghana to ensure sustainable leadership for the country.
“While our focus will be on putting in place teaching and learning materials so that even nursery school students will be taught to think; we will also expand the quality of technical and vocational education in this country,” he said.
As part of forum, participants will take part in workshops and social projects in Accra.
Share this story