The newly-appointed Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisa Djaba, has assured Ghanaians that the School Feeding Programme will be expanded from 1.7 million to cover three million students this year.
She said the Nana Akufo-Addo led government had decided to put strict measures in place to improve on the educational system of the country.
One of such measures, according to her, is the School Feeding Programme, which was started by the Kufuor administration but suffered some difficulties under the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to her, special emphasis would also be placed on proper diagnosis and treatment of children with learning disabilities like dyslexia and other special needs.
“Their education will be mainstreamed with the full implementation of the inclusive education policy. We, as a Ministry, will embark on advocacy and aggressive awareness programmes with a bottom up approach for acceptance and social integration.”
The Minister gave this assurance at a forum on ensuring inclusive governance in Ghana, organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa, in partnership with Abantu for Development and Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, with funding support from Ford Foundation.
Speaking on the theme, the Minister indicated that her government was committed to ensuring an all-inclusive government, which would leave nobody out. She said, as a nation, we must develop a society that respects diversity and provides a dignified life for all.
“We need an innovative paradigm shift in our thinking and attitude towards the vulnerable, and this must be a collective responsibility of all of us to say ‘No’ to exclusion and ‘Yes’ to inclusion for all in Ghana.”
The programme, forum on ensuring inclusive governance in Ghana, sought to solicit ideas from the public on how to ensure full participation of citizens in the governance system.
In her remarks, the Chairperson for the programme, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, Director, Abantu for Development, opined that the people of the country, especially the youth, have to rise up to the game and be part of the steering of the affairs of the nation.
She entreated participants not to rest on their comfort zones and expect recognition from those up there, while charging them to hold governments accountable.
Meanwhile, some participants raised concerns about the fact that ladies are not much recognised in national development, and that it was time the affirmative policy saw the light of day.
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