Education Minister defends 'blowing' 33 Million Cedis on 'pasco' for Final SHS students

Education Minister defends 'blowing' 33 Million Cedis on 'pasco' for Final SHS students

  • Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum says the initiative is beneficial to students in disadvantaged areas
  • He made the assertion in an interview with Citi News following the controversy generated by the news
  • The news got a lot of people talking about government expenditure

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Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education has defended the government's decision to spend over 33 million Ghana cedis to buy past questions for final year Senior High School students.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that he made the revelation whilst speaking on the floor of parliament. He stated that the money was used to buy 568,755 examination papers in 2020.

In a new interview with Citi News, he defended the decision of the government following severe blowback from the citizenry.

Education Minister defends 'blowing' 33 Million Cedis on 'pasco' for WASSCE
Education Minister defends 'blowing' 33 Million Cedis on 'pasco' for WASSCE. Photo source: Parliament of Ghana
Source: Facebook

He said that the decision was necessary for people living in disadvantaged areas.

Read also

Buying 'pasco' for students is normal; it is done in advanced countries - Ntim Fordjour

“For students in deprived schools, giving them access to previous examination questions and not just questions but questions and answers and the examiner’s report was important to them," said Dr Adutwum per a Citi News report.
"Last year, what the Ministry of Education procured for the students was a great contribution.”

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More details

The minister stated that the decision to purchase the past questions and answers was part of interventions to help the candidates who are beneficiaries of the Free SHS program prepare for the 20/21 WASSCE.

In a report filed by Graphic.com.gh, the minister revealed that the materials were gotten from Messrs Kingdom Books and Stationery at a unit price of GH₵59 in 2020 and GH78 in 2021.

He added that the purchase of these handouts for final year students was funded by the free SHS account.

Read also

Dem for cancel Free SHS; Ghanaians 'mad' over 68.5m used to buy 'pasco' for students

Meanwhile, the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has been invited to serve on the United Nations Advisory Group for Mission 4.7.

Mission 4.7 is a new global initiative designed to put into practice the bold vision articulated by the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) on education and target 4.7.

It will be led by two Patrons: Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the UN and Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO.

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Source: YEN.com.gh

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