Today, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang is expected to deliver her acceptance speech as Vice Presidential Candidate on the NDC's 2024 ticket.
The outstanding trailblazer will make yet another history — this time, as the only female to be nominated twice as Running Mate by a major Ghanaian political party.
Incoming President, H.E. John Mahama deserves all the plaudits for his consistent belief, trust and respect for the Ghanaian woman.
H.E. John Mahama's decision has been overwhelmingly hailed as a choice for competence, accomplishment and integrity.
Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang continues to inspire many across the world.
Due to her impressive track record as Ghana's Minister for Education from 2013 to 2017, when the Federation of African Women Educationalists (FAWE) with its headquarters in Kenya was looking for an African Board Chair and President from 2017 to 2023, they unanimously settled on Prof. Opoku-Agyemang.
Prof. Naana Jane as she is affectionately called made Ghana proud once more by transforming FAWE, and leading the organisation to win the globally prestigious Al Sumait prize for Education.
When Zimbabwe was looking for a Chancellor for its Women's University in Africa, they knew they had struck gold upon receiving a favourable response from Prof. Opoku-Agyemang.
It's been extremely difficult for the Zimbabweans to let Prof go after she helped them establish a world-class university. They have strongly pleaded with Prof to accept her resignation as Chancellor only after she graduates the 2024 year group in August.
As Ghana's Minister for Education, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang is celebrated for her innovative policies and her impeccable integrity.
WAEC data confirms that Ghana's best BECE results were attained under Prof.
Prof. successfully abolished the shift system in public basic schools; eliminated over 2,000 schools under trees; introduced the Private BECE to open doors of opportunity for the marginalized; achieved gender parity at the basic education level and reversed the appalling situation of 3 children sharing a textbook to a new ratio of 4 textbooks per pupil plus free dictionaries.
It's rather unfortunate that the appalling phenomenon of lack of textbooks is back with us.
At the secondary level, for four consecutive years with Prof. Opoku-Agyemang at the helm, Ghana was adjudged the best country in WASSCE scores. It was remarkable to see the best WASSCE performance awards consistently go to Ghanaian students during that period.
She initiated the construction of 123 famous E-Blocks to expand access and ensure that there was no double track when she served as Minister.
Her E-Block design placed emphasis on STEM allowing for 5 well-equipped labs for General Science, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Computing.
Her E-Blocks came with stocked modern libraries, assembly halls and comfortable offices for the teaching staff.
Every E-Block had a designated 100-seater bus for students and a pickup truck for staff.
Some 480,000 vulnerable students benefited from her progressively free secondary education intervention.
She is the only Minister of Education to offer free sanitary pads for thousands of female learners. She was clearly ahead of the current debate on period poverty and taxes on sanitary pads.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang successfully negotiated the US$156 million World Bank-supported Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP), and is perhaps one of very few Education Ministers in Africa who left behind millions of dollars she directly generated for her successor.
Prof. Naana Jane was big on skills development. She carried out the most impactful TVET interventions in Ghana's history.
Her imposing TVET infrastructure are listed below:
- Ada Technical Institute (Greater Accra Region)
- Akwatia Technical Institute (Eastern Region)
- Amankwakrom Technical Institute (Eastern Region)
- Asuansi Technical Institute (Central Region,
- Bolga Technical Institute (Upper East Region)
- Kpando Technical Institute (Volta Region)
- Nkoranza Technical Institute (Former Brong Ahafo Region)
- Dabokpa Technical Institute (Northern Region)
- Wa Technical Institute (Upper West Region)
- Krobea Asante Technical Institute (Ashanti Region)
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang ensured that President Mahama's Skills Development Fund of US$51 million benefited 646 carefully selected startups.
Prof. superintended over the highly celebrated conversion and elevation of Ghana's polytechnics to technical universities. A feat only few countries have achieved. By this, she was laying a solid foundation for Ghana's much-needed industrialization.
Prof. Naana Jane diligently executed the Mills/Mahama vision of establishing a public university in each region of Ghana.
She oversaw the completion of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in the Volta Region, the full operationalization of the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the then Brong Ahafo Region and secured external funding and cut sod for the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in the Eastern Region.
Prof. placed teachers at the heart of her interventions.
She completed the upgrade of teacher training institutes into full tertiary Colleges of Education (CoE).
All 38 public CoEs at the time were beneficiaries of massive infrastructural development. Sadly, her projects she couldn't complete have been abandoned for more than 7 years.
She pursued automatic posting of teachers without the obnoxious licensure exams and without national service.
The best teacher awards were enhanced, laptops were donated to teachers, district education offices were constructed and her interventions led to teacher absenteeism dropping drastically from 27% to 7%.
She undoubtedly ushered in Ghana's golden era of education and excelled at it without a single scandal.
Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang is not one to photocopy past examination questions for an incredible GHS68.5 million. She rather tasked the Centre For National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS), an agency under the ministry to upload all past examination questions and other learning materials online for students across the country to access at no cost to the Ghanaian taxpayer.
Prof. Naana Jane was never caught up in a GHS63 million math set procurement scandal.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang is certainly that honest, truthful, incorruptible, competent, credible, empathetic, modest and trustworthy Vice President Ghanaians have been looking for.
Let's make history together with Prof, and let's vote John & Jane to rescue and reconstruct our dear nation.
#JohnandJane2024 #BestChoice4ABetterGhana
