Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Vice Presidential Candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), is advocating for ‘Girl Child Education’ and calling on the public to contribute significantly to enabling girls to excel academically.
Prempeh, also known as ‘Napo’ and a former Minister of Education, emphasizes the importance of inspiring girls and providing them with the necessary support and encouragement to achieve higher academic success, which will enhance their future opportunities.
May we be encouraged to inspire our young girls to take their education seriously, by giving them the opportunities and space to make informed choices and achieve their maximum potential as future leaders of our country.
In a Facebook post commemorating this year’s ‘International Girl Child Day’ under the theme ‘Girl’s Vision for the Future,’ he highlighted the crucial contributions of women to national development, asserting that prioritizing the education of girls must remain a fundamental responsibility of the state.
The NPP Vice Presidential Candidate remarked that the theme for this year’s International Girl Child Day “deeply aligns with H.E. Alhaji Dr. Bawumia’s vision, which emphasizes the necessity for immediate action and enduring hope, fueled by the empowerment of girls’ voices and their aspirations for the future.” Napo, recognized for his commitment to girl child education, affirmed the wisdom of the esteemed Dr. Kwegir Aggrey when he stated
if you educate a man, you simply educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation.
He praised President Akufo-Addo’s NPP administration for its substantial efforts in enhancing the enrollment of girls from basic education to Senior High Schools (SHS) since taking office eight years ago.
On the International Girl Child Day, I reflect on the strides we have made as a nation for the education of the girl child, particularly under the administration of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Over the years, enrollment of both boys and girls in our basic schools have generally been at par and we have achieved a fair measure of gender parity at that level.
Under this government’s Free Senior High School programme, we have been able to leapfrog access to bring enrollment of girls to be at par with boys’ enrollment at senior high school level. This is significant development for our nation.
