Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour
• Government committed to sensitizing students on climate change, says Rev. John Ntim Fordjour
• Deputy Education Minister is the leader of Ghana’s education delegation at COP26
• COP26 is being held in Glasgow – UK
Deputy Minister for Education, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, has emphasized the need for Ghana’s education system to prioritize lessons on the effects of climate change. This he says will help children appreciate the impact of the phenomenon at a young age.
In furtherance of his statement, the deputy minister also emphasized the commitment of government to increasing support for sensitizing school children about the impact of climate change.
“Whenever there is an environmental emergency, education is the hardest hit. When there are floods and landslides and schools are closed, it is kids of school-going age who are most affected. Especially young girls and kids living with disabilities. Usually, it takes about 3 months to a year for them to get back to school. So, we must be concerned about climate actions because the impact of climate change impacts directly on education,” he explained.
Speaking about the Ministry of Education’s role in the fight against global warming, the deputy minister said issues of climate change have been integrated into Ghana’s educational curricula.
“As a ministry, we are very much committed to education for sustainable development. We have inculcated various aspects of climate change education in our curriculum particularly at the pre-tertiary level. So, we are ensuring that we are introducing concepts of climate change in all levels of learning. And, also giving adequate training to our teachers,” he explained.
“At the Ministry of Education, we have partnered with the EPA on a project called Sustainability Starts from School. We are heightening climate change at all levels. We believe climate change education must be science-based and gender-responsive. As we are educating them to heighten the awareness on climate change, they are also part of the solution for a global action against climate change,” Rev. Ntim Fordjour added.
Reverend Ntim Fordjour is leading the education sector delegation sent to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), where global leaders are gathered to commit to helping deal with global warming.
Outlining the role of the delegation at the conference, Rev. Fordjour told Joynews in an interview
“The education delegation is participating in the conference to share ideas and heighten advocacy on climate change education. And re-emphasize our commitment and pledge as a government to put in resilient policies in place and ensure various vulnerabilities in climate change are limited to a certain extent.”