62% of ‘public’ primary 2 students can’t read – Education Minister

The Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum citing a National Standardized Test (NST) study says 62 per cent of primary 2 students in the country are unable to read, a situation he said was even worse in the 2015 academic year

“In a test conducted in 2015, only 2% of Primary-2 students could read in this country. Thereafter, in 2022, the President invested resources and was able to access every Primary-2 student in the country on the National Standardized test.

“The test result which is out has revealed that 38% of the students can read, but I’m not happy about it [because] it also said 62% can’t read and we can’t be happy with that,” Adutwum noted in his address at an event held in Takoradi.

The Minister in Charge of Education added “We have to begin to raise a new generation of education leaders who will be interested in learning outcomes and who will lead the charge to ensure that Ghana’s fortunes will change.

“We cannot depend on this apprenticeship leadership any longer…we have to fast-track the Wesley Girls’ experience so we can get more effective school leadership and this is where the National Education Leadership Institute comes in.

“The apprenticeship would be there but people will also have to study and understand what makes schools work in Ghana.”

Meanwhile, the Education Minister has said 90 per cent of primary students are estimated to be English fluent after the conduct of the National Standardised Test aimed to improve learning outcomes and reduce learning poverty,

The Education Minister gave the assurance while speaking at the 4th edition of the National Education Week Program under the theme “Reimagining education for national transformation” monitored by AcademicWeek.com.

He at the program said the central government had tasked the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to administer the National Standardised examination for selected primary school students across the country.

“So after the conduct of the Test by the WAEC, we expect over 90% of primary four students in the country to be proficient in English, We expect 90% to move on to high school, 90% to move on to university” Dr Adutwum stated.