The Paramount Chief of Tepa, Nana Adusei Atwere Ampem I, has installed Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the education minister as the Development Chief (Nkosuohene) of the Tepa Traditional Area for his immense contribution to the transformation of education in Ghana.
Under the stool name, Nana Yaw Adutwum I, the Education Minister was outdoored at a grand durbar held in his honour at Tepa in the Ahafo-Ano North Municipality.
The colourful ceremony was attended by heads of various agencies under the Ministry of Education.
Dressed in a beautiful Kente cloth with an elegant traditional sandal to match, he was aided by the Queen Mother, Nana Konama Danpon III to sit on his stool three times to signify his enstoolment.
“Your deep intellectual prowess coupled with your exemplary leadership style at the Education Ministry has brought great relief to parents and the country at large,” part of a citation presented to Dr. Adutwum read.
It further read that, “Your hard work have always been beyond our expectations and have contributed to our journey of success as a community.”
Nana Adusei Atwerewa Ampem I, the Paramount Chief of Tepa Traditional Area eulogised the Minister for changing the face of education through innovative initiatives with Tepa getting its fair share of his impactful leadership.
He said he has distinguished himself as a Minister overseeing a key sector around which national development revolves and therefore deserves to be honoured for his shining example.
The Tepamanhene entrusted the Tepa Senior High School to Dr. Adutwum as the development Chief, highlighting myriad of challenges facing the school and urged him to take steps to give the school a face-lift.
Dr. Adutwum said he was humbled to be honoured by the Chiefs and people of Tepa and pledged his commitment to complement efforts of the Paramount Chief to accelerate the development of the area.
He said Nana Atwerewa Ampem had distinguished himself as a visionary leader who is already spearheading the development of the Traditional Area, hence joining forces with him would scale up development in the area.
The Nkosuohene announced his readiness to work closely with other chiefs to back the paramount chief to prosecute his development initiatives.
He said he has a responsibility as sector Minister to provide the needed facilities to enhance academic work at Tepa SHS and assured the people of his commitment to do just that, especially now that he has become a Development Chief of the town.
He praised the Paramount Chief of Tepa for the establishment of a College of Education in the town which already has SHS and Nurses Training College, saying that it takes visionary leaders to invest in education for the benefit of his people.
Prior to his enstoolment as a Chief in Tepa, the education minister had been touring the Ashanti Region to acquaint himself with the challenges on the ground, especially in SHSs across the region.
He inspected ongoing project sites to see how they are progressing, interacted with students and also called on some traditional leaders as key stakeholders to discuss how best to collectively transform education in Ghana.
Among the schools visited by the Minister are Osei Kyeretwie Senior High, Kumasi Girls Senior High, Kumasi High School, Juaben Senior High, Effiduase Senior High, Krobea Asante Vocational Institute, Asokore Ahmadiyya Girls, St. Monica’s Girls and Boanim Senior High.
The rest are Obuasi Secondary Technical, Christian the King Senior High, Bekwai SDA Senior High, Bosomtwe STEM Girls School, St. Michael Senior High, and Tepa Senior High.
Dr. Adutwum engaged students in all the school he visited and encouraged them to take advantage of the opportunity offered them through the Free Senior High School Programme to secure better future for themselves.
He admonished them to reciprocate the huge investments made in their education by making good grades to make the investments worthwhile.
He said the Government under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would continue to create access for more Ghanaian children to enjoy free education and urged beneficiaries to make the most of the opportunity.
On the ongoing STEM School projects under construction in the region, Dr. Adutwum said the expectation is that pupils at the basic level would have a feel of equipment in science laboratories of SHSs even before they get there to ensure smooth transition.
