The General Manager of Catholic Schools in Ghana, Mrs. Doris Ashun, has hinted that the Ministry of Education is working on providing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Centres at Senior High Schools and Basic schools across the country to enhance the teaching and learning of Science.
In a speech at the grand finale of the maiden National Brain Battle Quiz for Catholic Basic Schools held at the Christ the King Parish in Accra on Sunday, March 15, she noted that the Ministry is also looking at the training of Science teachers to ensure their training reflects the realities and dynamics of Science Education for the 21st Century.
She revealed that statistics from the Ghana Education Service (GES) indicate that the best performed Basic Education Certificate Education (BECE) among 1,183 Catholic Public Schools are not necessarily the best-performed Science and Maths Schools.
According to her, “The United States has become a global leader, through the genius and hard work of scientists, mathematicians and innovators,” but lamented that “Yet today, that position is threatened as comparatively few students pursue expertise in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and by an inadequate pipeline of teachers’ skills in those subjects.”
Mrs. Ashun pointed out that “In today’s globalized world, scientific innovation was vital for economic competitiveness, quality of life, and national security,” noting that “much of the future job growth in the world will be in STEM.”
This situation, she stressed raises concerns about Africa’s preparedness as well as Ghana for STEM jobs, “given the small numbers of domestic students who enter these fields and the high redraw rate.
She referenced that “a recent STEM report predicted that by 2020, 80% of all future jobs will require a STEM education. It is expedient to prepare tomorrow’s leaders in this regard.”
Touching on the importance of the brain battle quiz, she noted that “this Science and Math Quiz is also introducing practical perspective that will not only allow the children to learn and pour out what they have learnt but improve upon the impact of science on the young ones.
“The belief that men study and work at the industrialized institutions while women nurture the learner at home should be a thing of the past,” she stated, admonishing parents and teachers to encourage and groom more of the girls in the competition.”
“At the Basic school level, it is important to get science Education right and groom teachers who inspire and are able to bring out the very best in our children through creative, exciting and practical teaching methods, she stated. She said “on this basis, the programme is also designed to highly equip the science and mathematics teachers to ensure maximum output by the candidates.”
“As educators and innovators, we believe among many other things that practical science and mathematics should begin at the Basic School level and be nurtured to provide a solid foundation which can then be built upon at the Senior High School level, and finally be advanced at the tertiary level for national development.”
