President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said Ghana will not realise the desired results unless the total education of the people becomes the central concern for all in the society.

Societies like the United States of America (USA), Japan, South Korea, India Canada and China among others have prospered and continue to prosper, he said, because they saw education as their main concern to empower the populace.

President Akufo-Addo, in a meeting with Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, said without an empowered society, the process of national development would be seriously challenged.

The government introduced Free Senior High School education policy in 2017 with the intention to ensure that every young Ghanaian regardless of his or her social and economic standing receives a minimum of senior high school education.

The programme attracted 90,000 more students last year and the figure could climb to 180,000 this year to give a further boost to Ghana’s education access, he said.

President Akufo-Addo said government would recruit 8,000 more teachers to match the projected increase adding that about 43,000 applicants of the Nation Builders Core (NABCO) were teachers.

He said Government is determined to employ the teachers to fill in the teaching gap in the country’s education sector.

President Akufo-Addo expressed appreciation to the chiefs for lauding the various policy and programme interventions introduced by government in the effort to transform the economy.

Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI, the Paramount Chief of Tumu Traditional Area and President of Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, said the work culture adopted by President Akufo-Addo to hold interactive sessions periodically with the people across the country placed him tall among his peers.

Kuoro Kanton VI, who is also a Member of the Council of State, such sessions created space for the people to dialogue on pertinent issues with the President.

Naa Dikomwine Domalae, the Diffiama Naa and Vice President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, said the poor road network was one of the challenges confronting the region.

He appealed to President Akufo-Addo to make final pronouncement on the autonomy of the Wa campus of the University for Development Studies as well as intervene in the Wa Polytechnic impasse.

He said some concerned citizens of the region sensing the unhealthy move by the UDS authorities have gone to court on the matter which was still pending determination.

President Akufo-Addo commissioned an office complex for the regional house of chiefs.