Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has dismissed calls to consult his predecessor, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, insisting that the last time he sought the former minister’s advice, he was misled.
Speaking on the New Day programme amid ongoing challenges with the Computerized School Selection Placement System (CSSPS), the Minister recounted an incident from the early days of his tenure that has since shaped his reluctance to seek counsel from Dr Adutwum.
According to him, upon assuming office, he announced plans to recruit teachers from a particular year group, only to be quickly “corrected” by his predecessor, who claimed that the said group had already been posted during his time in office.
That claim, Iddrisu said, later proved to be false — although Dr Adutwum, to his credit, returned to admit his error.
“The last time I took advice from him on this matter, he misled me. But he was honourable enough to come back to me that he got it wrong, and that’s the beauty of it,” the Minister said.
“He had insisted that under his watch, a certain category had been taken care of — that was not the case. I had announced that we would recruit the 2023 and 2024 year groups.”
November Recruitment Plans
Mr Iddrisu disclosed that the next round of teacher recruitment will begin in November, with the focus shifting to the 2024 year group, having completed the 2023 batch.
“Now, good advice I’ll take. When we open the portal in November, we’ll focus on 2024, because we’re assuming we will have dealt with 2023. Then the next quarter will be on 2025. Good advice, I will take,” he added.
“If His Record Was Good, Why Are We Here?”
The Minister’s remarks come on the back of a challenge by Dr Adutwum — who served as substantive minister for four years and deputy minister for four years — urging his successor to consult him for guidance on resolving the CSSPS challenges.
But Iddrisu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, questioned the basis of the call, arguing that the problems confronting the sector today occurred under his predecessor’s watch.
“If Dr Adutwum says he did a better job with the CSSPS system, then why are we here? What does he mean by ‘come to me for advice’? What advice can he give when the education system could not feed students, and many schools were closed down because they couldn’t feed them? Am I going to seek advice from Dr Adutwum on ending the double-track system — when he invented it?” he queried.
He further cited the 2025 Auditor General’s Report, which he said paints a troubling picture of the state of basic education infrastructure, the Free Senior High School (FSHS) under the previous administration.
“The number of Ghanaian children studying under trees is around 3 million, in 10,903 schools across 13 regions of Ghana. This cannot be a proud record,” he stated.
“We’ve Only Been in Power for One and a Half Years”
Iddrisu urged critics of the government to “hasten slowly,” arguing that some of the criticism makes it seem as though the Mahama administration has been in office for a decade.
“Let’s not create the impression that President Mahama and Minister Haruna Iddrisu came a decade ago, or even four years ago. We are only one and a half years into an administration that inherited all these crises,” he said.
“If in eight years you did not invest in basic foundational learning, you introduced double track, and you had schools closed down because there was no food — we have made sufficient provision for food for school feeding. We are spending between GH₵1.4 billion and GH₵3 billion each year on senior high schools in our budget since 2025. But I am realigning investment and spending into basic education.”
Credit Where It’s Due: STEM
Despite his sharp criticisms, the Minister commended Dr Adutwum for championing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, describing the focus as beneficial to the country’s future.
However, he took issue with the failure to back the STEM push with a guiding policy.
“I commend him for the focus on STEM and for waking the country up to invest more in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. I commend him for the infrastructure support, but I’m unable to commend him if he didn’t back it with policy,” Iddrisu said.
He revealed that his team is currently developing a comprehensive STEM policy, which will be made public once finalized.
“There are many things Minister Adutwum got right — his emphasis on STEM education bodes well for the future of the country. But before providing the infrastructure, he should have proceeded with a STEM policy, which we are now working on. When it is ready, we will share it with the Ghanaian public.”
By Gifty Boateng