{"id":252620,"date":"2024-11-19T09:02:03","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T09:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/19\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\/"},"modified":"2024-11-19T09:02:03","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T09:02:03","slug":"i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/19\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\/","title":{"rendered":"I was a charcoal seller, but education changed me"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"article-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ghanaweb.com\/imagelib\/pics\/308\/30854287.295.jpg\" alt=\"Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalization\" title=\"Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalization\" width=\"295\" height=\"166\" \/> <span class=\"image_caption\"><span>Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalization<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"-webkit-user-select: none; -webkit-touch-callout: none; -moz-user-select: none; -ms-user-select: none; user-select: none;\">\n<p id=\"article-123\">Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Ghana\u2019s Minister for Communications and Digitalization, has staunchly defended the New Patriotic Party\u2019s (NPP) flagship Free Senior High School (SHS) initiative amidst criticism from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Pure FM in an interview with Kwame Adinkra, the Ablekuma West Member of Parliament argued that the NDC\u2019s concerns about the program are unfounded and fail to appreciate the transformative role of education in societal progress.<\/p>\n<p>The NDC has repeatedly criticized the Free SHS program, claiming it diverts resources from other crucial development sectors. However, Ursula dismissed these criticisms, emphasizing that education remains the cornerstone of national development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose who argue that Free SHS sacrifices other areas of development simply do not understand how fundamental education is to solving the challenges we face as a nation,\u201d she said firmly.<\/p>\n<p>Drawing on her personal journey, Ursula illustrated how education shaped her life. She recounted her humble beginnings in a household where her single mother juggled multiple jobs to support her children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother sold charcoal and took on any opportunity she could find to keep us going. It was not easy, but she understood that the key to a better life for her children was education,\u201d Ursula shared, her voice tinged with emotion.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on her rise to becoming a lawyer, women\u2019s rights advocate, and politician, she credited her mother\u2019s sacrifices and her access to quality education.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout education, I wouldn\u2019t be a lawyer today. I wouldn\u2019t be in politics. My mother\u2019s hard work would have been in vain,\u201d she remarked, underscoring the importance of the Free SHS program.<\/p>\n<p>The Free SHS initiative, according to Ursula, is not just an educational reform but a long-term investment in the nation\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEducation shapes leaders, problem-solvers, and innovators. This program is designed to cultivate the minds that will tackle Ghana\u2019s challenges in years to come,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalization Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Ghana\u2019s Minister for Communications and Digitalization, has staunchly defended the New Patriotic Party\u2019s (NPP) flagship Free Senior High School (SHS) initiative amidst criticism from the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Speaking on Pure FM in an interview with Kwame Adinkra, the Ablekuma West Member of Parliament argued [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":252529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-252620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>I was a charcoal seller, but education changed me - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/19\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I was a charcoal seller, but education changed me - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalization Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Ghana\u2019s Minister for Communications and Digitalization, has staunchly defended the New Patriotic Party\u2019s (NPP) flagship Free Senior High School (SHS) initiative amidst criticism from the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Speaking on Pure FM in an interview with Kwame Adinkra, the Ablekuma West Member of Parliament argued [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/19\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-19T09:02:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/30854287.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"338\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/19\\\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/19\\\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\"},\"headline\":\"I was a charcoal seller, but education changed me\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-19T09:02:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/19\\\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":333,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/19\\\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/30854287.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Top News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/19\\\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/19\\\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/19\\\/i-was-a-charcoal-seller-but-education-changed-me-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"I was a charcoal seller, but education changed me - 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