Yaw Opoku Mensah, the former Deputy Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Education
Yaw Opoku Mensah, the former Deputy Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Education, has attributed the “terrible performance” of students in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to the alleged incompetence of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Mensah argued that the current administration has demonstrated a refusal to continue the successful initiatives started by its predecessor.
He specifically highlighted that the previous government, led by former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, implemented targeted programmes designed to thoroughly prepare students before they sat for their final examinations.
Furthermore, Yaw Opoku Mensah reiterated his assertion that the poor performance is intrinsically linked to management issues within the Ghana Education Service (GES).
He cited the alleged cancellation of teacher allowances as a key factor that negatively impacted teacher motivation, consequently harming student performance.
He stated that the government must accept responsibility for the outcome and immediately introduce effective measures to address the challenge instead of resorting to making excuses.
Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he stated, “This government is currently in charge, yet they have failed to deliver.
“This shows that if you rely on propaganda to win political power, you will inevitably be exposed. This administration has chosen to politicise our education sector and now we are witnessing serious failures in the WASSCE. It was crucial for the government to have reached out to the previous administration to understand how we achieved our success.”
He subsequently advised the current Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, to seek counsel from his immediate predecessor, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, on the strategies used to achieve better WASSCE results during the previous term.
Mensah concluded with a strong assertion, “If Haruna Iddrisu chooses to fail at the Education Ministry, he certainly will but if he wants to succeed, he knows what must be done. He should not allow political propaganda to cloud his judgement when he has the option to reach out to Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum for support.”