Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has revealed why he chose to leave academia to get into politics after he decided to return to Ghana from the U.S., where he taught mathematics for over a decade.
His relocation followed a meeting he had with then candidate Akufo-Addo, who had visited California and encouraged him to return home to help develop the country’s education system, having witnessed Dr. Adutwum’s achievements in the US, where he owns three schools.
Speaking at an engagement in Accra on Sunday, November 10, 2024, Dr. Adutwum said he decided to go into politics because he feared candidate Akufo-Addo could forget about him if he won the 2016 elections.
He said he decided to run as a Member of Parliament to keep him in the mind of then-candidate Akufo-Addo should he win that election.
“When Nana Addo told me he was bringing free SHS, and so I should come home and help with its implementation, I then went to one of my white counselors to advise me on what to do. He told me, ‘Yaw, America can do without you, but maybe your country cannot do without you.’ It touched my heart, and I decided to come and help. But I told myself that this man is a politician; what if he forgets about me later when he wins power?
“So, I decided to also become a politician myself. So I contested to become an MP at Bosomtwi, where I won and came to Parliament. I was made a deputy minister of education and served under Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh for four years when the NPP won the 2016 election. I was later elevated to substantive minister when we won the 2020 election for me to implement the discussion I had with him in America. Ghanaians are witnesses to the tremendous work we have been able to do with the Free SHS programme.”
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum is credited for ensuring massive development in Ghana’s education sector, particularly with his emphasis on boosting the teaching and learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
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