Madam Gifty Twum-Ampofo, the Deputy Minister of Education responsible for Technical and Vocation Education and Training (TVET), has publicly apologized to teachers for comments attributed to her that caused unrest among the teaching community.
The incident occurred during her address at the 175th-anniversary celebration of the Akropong Presbyterian College in the Eastern Region.
According to reports, Twum-Ampofo, while delivering her speech, seemingly placed blame on teachers for the country’s struggling economy.
She stated, “Research has proved that a country’s Gross Tertiary Enrollment has a lot to do with the GDP of the country. The performance of the economy depends on the Gross Tertiary Enrollment. So the teacher is to be blamed for the poor economy not the Finance Minister.”
While the Deputy Minister acknowledged making the statement, she clarified that it was merely an offhand remark and not intended to belittle the efforts of teachers.
During an interview on TV3’s New Day on Tuesday, July 4, Twum-Ampofo expressed her deep appreciation for teachers, emphasizing that she would never take them for granted as she herself had a background in teaching. She further emphasized her Christian values, mentioning that she would never speak with the intention of hurting others.
Twum-Ampofo went on to say, “I haven’t denied that but what I am saying is, it is unfortunate that people that you are praising, you could quickly jump to accuse them. It was a fact-finding and I stated that. I can’t hurt teachers and as a Christian, if you do something or you say something, you don’t mean to hurt anybody, so if the people are hurt I am sorry.”
Read also: Teachers Held Responsible for Ghana’s Economic Problems.
This public apology aims to address the concerns raised by teachers who felt disrespected by her earlier comments. She has made it clear that she holds teachers in high regard and deeply values their dedication and contribution to education in Ghana.