A former Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr. Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, has blamed the leadership style of former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum for what he described as setbacks in the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.
Dr. Tandoh, in an interview on Channel One TV argued that instead of harnessing the expertise of seasoned education professionals, Dr. Adutwum leaned too heavily on his own knowledge, a move he believes weakened the quality of implementation.
“As a minister of education, regardless of what you know, you work with the technical people on the ground. The biggest challenge was that because he felt he was in education, he could do it.”
He contrasted Adutwum’s style with that of his predecessor, Dr. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, who he said prioritized teamwork and regularly engaged the technical experts at GES in policymaking.
The Free SHS programme, a flagship policy of the Akufo-Addo administration, was introduced in 2017 but continues to face scrutiny over funding, quality, and sustainability.
