By Stephen Asante, GNA
Kumasi, Aug. 30, GNA – Science, Mathematics and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) teachers have been advised to give serious attention to training programmes designed to build their capacity on technology and scientific issues.
This is needed to update the teachers’ practical knowledge on such contemporary issues to enable them to harness the creative and innovative talents inherent in their students, the Directorate of Science Education, Ghana Education Service (GES), has noted.
“Everything now is about technology, therefore, programmes relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) must be given a special place in our educational system, starting from the basic level.”
Mrs Olivia Serwaa Opare, Director, Science Education, GES, said the justification for the authorities’ argument emanated from the sterling performance of Ghanaian schools in the international robotic competitions recently.
“Our schools have since 2019 been doing well at such international competitions and these achievements could not have been realized without STEM education,” she told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in an interview, on the sideline of a five-day training workshop in Kumasi.
The programme, organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Education (MoE), targeted science, mathematics and ICT teachers from 25 Senior High Schools (SHSs), benefitting from the Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP).
A team of scientists (facilitators/resource persons) selected from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) as well as the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), taught the participants various topics, relating to science, technology and current development issues.
The training covered artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and programming, food security, renewable energy, and climate change, among others.
The workshop was structured to sharpen the skills and also broaden the knowledge base of the 103 participating teachers.
The teachers are expected to take up various projects relating to what they learnt when they get back to their schools for the benefit of their students.
On renewable energy, Mrs Opare said the teachers were taken through the processes of producing biogas, using left-over foods and human excreta.
The GES, she said, was grateful to the resource persons for sharing knowledge with the teachers from the SEIP schools, and hoped the participants were well-equipped for effective work.
Mr Hayford Riley Wilson, the SEIP Coordinator, said beneficiary schools of the Project were provided with SMART boards, robots, laptops and other incentives necessary to facilitate effective academic activities.
He explained that the workshop was expected to further enhance the academic performance of the schools.
Dr (Mrs.) Mercy Afua Adutwumwaa Derkyi, acting Director, UENR Centre for Professional Development (CePDev), took the participants through topics on climate change.
The objective was to demonstrate to the teachers the relevance of such topics to secondary education and how humanity could work to overcome the threats posed by climate change.
