Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum (born 9 April 1964) is a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian politician and member of the ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, representing the Bosomtwe Constituency in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

on the ticket of the

New Patriotic Party The New Patriotic Party (NPP; ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative political party in Ghana. Since the democratisation of Ghana in 1992, it has been one of the two dominant parties in Ghanaian ...

. On 5 March 2021, Adutwum was appointed by President

Nana Akufo-Addo William Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the 13th president of Ghana from January 2017 to January 2025. He previously served as Attorney General of Ghana, Attorney General from 2001 to 20 ...

as the

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

in Ghana.

Early life and education

Yaw Osei Adutwum hails from Jachie in the

Ashanti region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

of Ghana. He had his secondary education at

Kumasi High School Kumasi High School, often referred to as KUHIS, is a category A boys' senior high school in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It was established in 1962 by S. K. Amoah. It is regarded as one of the best senior high schools in Ghana and the bes ...

in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, where he received his Advanced level education certificate. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Land Economy (Business Administration with a major in Real Estate) from the

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), commonly known as UST, Tech or Kwame Tech, is a public university located in Kumasi, Ashanti region, Ghana. The university focuses on science and technology. It is the second public uni ...

prior to migrating to the United States. He holds a master's degree in Education Management from the

University of La Verne The University of La Verne (ULV) is a private university in La Verne, California. Founded in 1891, the university is composed of the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Business & Public Management, the LaFetra College of Education, College o ...

and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Educational Policy, Planning and Administration from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Career

In September 2004, he founded the New Designs Charter Schools in California, USA. Prior to that, he worked as a Mathematics and Information Technology teacher at the

Manual Arts High School Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high sc ...

for ten years, and within this period, he founded the International Studies Academy, which served as a small learning community for students. He also served as the lead math teacher in the USC/Manual Arts Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI). He was also part of the task force established by the National Research Council for Career and Technical Education to develop a national model for career and technical education at the high school and College levels. On 9 September 2021, Adutwum was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of the Capacity Building Center (CBC) in the School of Education and Information Studies at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA).

Initiative

On 2022, he granted scholarships to 61 engineering and medical students from his constituency for the 2022 academic year. With this initiative, the total number of students receiving the MP's scholarship for engineering and medicine reaches 91, inching closer to his goal of supporting 100 students within a 10-year timeframe.

Politics

Adutwum is a member of the New Patriotic Party, representing the Bosomtwe constituency in the Ashanti Region of Ghana in the Seventh and Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.

2016 election

He contested the Bosomtwe Constituency in the

of Ghana on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party during the

2016 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2016 to elect a President of Ghana, President and all 275 Members of Parliament of Ghana, Parliament. They had originally been scheduled for 7 November 2016, but the date was later rejected by P ...

, He obtained 46,238 votes out of the total 54,144 votes cast representing 85.82%, while his closest contender, the then District Chief Executive (DCE) of the

Bosomtwe District Bosomtwe District is one of the 43 districts in Ashanti Region, Ghana. Originally, it was part of the then-larger Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District on 10 March 1989, which was created from the former Ejisu-Juaben-Bosomtwe District Council, until ...

, Veronica Antwi-Adjei of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), had 7,215 votes, representing 13.39%. In the seventh parliament, Adutwum served on the Works and Housing and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Committees.

2020 election

Adutwum was re-elected as a member of parliament during the

2020 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2020. Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was re-elected in the first round after securing a majority of the votes. Former President John Dramani Mahama announce ...

with 57,939 votes out of 68,327 total valid votes, representing 84.80%, over Priscilla Mercy Nketia of the National Democratic Congress who had 10, 388 votes representing 15.2% of the total valid votes. He is a member of Members Holding Office of Profit Committee and the Employment and Social Welfare Committee of Parliament. 2024 election In 2024 election he retained his seat as he won the parliamentary seat for Bosomtwe Constituency against his opponent Abdullah Hamidu of the National Democratic Congress party.

Minister for Education

Adutwum was made the substantive Minister for Education in 2021, having served as Deputy to Mathew Opoku Prempeh for four years in which he helped in the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy.

STEM schools

Under the leadership of Adutwum, he sets out a plan to construct 35 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Senior High Schools (SHSs) and 5 STEM universities throughout the country. As a significant step towards this vision, 10 of these STEM SHSs were initiated in 2022. This initiative promotes STEM education and provides students with specialized learning opportunities to excel in these critical fields.

Awards

In 2019, he was voted the Best Performing Deputy Minister by two research bodies: the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) and FAKS Investigative Services.

Personal life

Adutwum is married with a child. He is a Christian and worships at the

Pentecost Church This is a list of current and former individual local Pentecostal places of worship, i.e. church buildings and congregations, that are individually notable. Some may be notable for their historic buildings listed on a historic register. This is n ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adutwum, Yaw Osei 1964 births Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021 Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025 Ghanaian MPs 2025–2029 Ghanaian Pentecostals Kumasi High School alumni Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni Living people New Patriotic Party politicians University of La Verne alumni University of Southern California alumni