Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, has told the Vice President, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, that it is his prayer that God gives her a long life and health to one day become Ghana’s first female President.
According to Haruna Iddrisu, Prof Jane Naana’s elevation to the second-highest office of the land is a milestone for women in leadership.
He further acknowledged Prof Jane Naana’s lifelong commitment to education, as well as her advocacy for gender equality and inclusivity.
Speaking to Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, when she paid an official visit to the Ministry of Education on September 24, 2025, Haruna Iddrisu stated, “It is my pride and honour to welcome you back to the Ministry of Education, this time in an elevated capacity as the first female Vice President of our Republic.
It is my prayer that God will give you long life and good health…that probably you will be elevated to become the first female President. May Allah grant you the strength”, he added.
Haruna Iddrisu further labelled Prof Jane Naan as “champion of education, gender rights, gender interests and inclusiveness in the pursuit of government policy”.
He further recounted his long-standing working relationship with the Vice President and recalled a covenant they had shared over the years in improving education and gender-focused programs.
Also, Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang cautioned the Minister of Education to try to explain the SHS placement challenges politely to parents and wards.
The vice president admonishes the Ministry of Education to be polite as parents and wards continuously storm the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra over the 2025 SHS placement.
Prof Jane Nana is quoted by GHOne to have said, “Try to explain SHS placement challenges politely”.
Her comments follow Parents and their wards besieging the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra over the 2025 BECE placement.
The parents, accompanied by their children, expressed frustration over the SHS placement.
Some parents expressed frustration over challenges of misplaced placements and difficulties in accessing the schools their wards have been placed in.
One parent stated, “I came here to change the school that the system gave to my son. Since we got here, the queue has been just overwhelming.
“My ward got St Fidelis SHS I don’t even know where that school is located. I wish he attended the school close to us, and particularly, we want a day school.
“With the pace at which the queue is moving, I doubt they will be able to attend to us today. Even if they stick to the one-week timeline they gave, I doubt they can attend to all of us,” he said.
Some parents also alleged that the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) made errors that wrongly disadvantaged their wards.
Meanwhile, Kofi Asare, the Director of Africa Education Watch, has said there are enough SHS spaces, but parents want popular schools.
He called on parents to manage their expectations regarding the ongoing 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) placement process.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, September 23, Kofi Asare explained, “The resolution starts with parents, because we have more spaces in schools than we actually need. Which means that we have the capacity to absorb all the 590,000 students that want to be placed this year.
“But the issue is that while the country has spaces in our secondary schools, the spaces do not meet the full expectations, tastes and choices of parents and, by extension, the candidates,” he said.
He added, “One of the challenges is the over-democratisation of school placement, where you are told that you have the right to choose. But that is not absolute. It is relative within a merit-based system. You may wish to go to Labone SHS to do science, but you must also know that the school is a competitive Category B school.
“So, your chance of going there is not a matter of choosing but also making a competitive grade with respect to the course you are choosing, whether you want to be a day student or not. These two things determine the extent of competition,” he explained.
Kofi Asare further highlighted that equitable access to education requires parents to embrace all schools across categories.
“So, parents should understand that it is not possible for any government to serve them with the choice of their school for their wards. The only way we can ensure equitable access to second-cycle school is to ensure that all schools, regardless of their categories, are patronised by parents,” he added.
Watch the video below:
I pray that you may one day become Ghana's first female President… – Haruna Iddrisu (Education Minister) tells Vice Pres. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang#GHOneNews #EIBNetwork#GHOneTV #NewsAlert pic.twitter.com/Gx4qL9J6KS
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) September 24, 2025