The Minister of Education, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, popularly called Napo, has banned the importation of exercise and textbooks for public schools in the country with immediate effect.

“Henceforth, we shall not import exercise books, textbooks and teacher manuals for our public schools from countries like China again,” the minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, stated.

Napo indicated that teacher manuals, exercise books and textbooks for public schools would be produced in Ghana by Ghanaians to help boost the country’s economy and create jobs.

He stated that the move forms part of his ministry’s ‘Education for Jobs’ programme, which is geared towards helping Ghanaian businessmen to benefit financially from the educational sector.

Napo disclosed this while addressing media practitioners in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region at a press conference during the three-day tour of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The press conference, organized at the instance of the president, was to enable the media know the policies that the various ministries were planning to implement to develop the country.

The Education Minister explained that as part of the new programme, the textbooks, teacher manuals and exercise books, would be printed on regional basis to help boost the regional economy.

According to him, the publishers in the various regions should benefit from the policy.

Free Education

Napo debunked assertions by NPP’s political opponents that the free education policy would lower the standard of education, indicating that the new policy would rather instill discipline in students and boost quality education.

According to him, since pupils in the Junior High Schools (JHS) are supposed to pass the BECE before they benefit from the free education policy, they would surely be serious and learn hard to pass the examinations.

Napo stated that under the free SHS policy, which would be introduced in September, students would also get free school uniforms and other key incentives.