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The Ghana Education Service will soon operationalise all the 16 new regional Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) hubs being constructed by the government, the Director of the Science Education Unit of the service, Mrs Olivia Serwaa Opare, has said.
The facilities which were more than 70 per cent completed across all the regions when operationalised would serve as centres of excellence for the training of instructors in STEM and also aid in the promotion of science and innovative education in the country.
Speaking to journalists after the opening of a five-day retreat for national STEM coordinators at Adukrom in the Okere Municipality of the Eastern Region on Wednesday, Ms Opare said the construction of the centres formed part of the government’s agenda for STEM education in the country.
She said “Very soon you will see one STEM hub each in all our 16 regions. They are under construction and are about 70 per cent complete.”
She said government had invested heavily into the promotion of STEM by increasing the supply of equipment that would help provide students with hands on training in skills development in the country.
Mrs Opare said STEM education had witnessed some dramatic improvement over the last seven years due to the commitment of the Minister of Education and government.
“Ghanaian students have received numerous worldwide STEM awards, in addition to competing in the worldwide Scientific Physics Olympiad held in Russia,” she emphasised.
The five-day retreat was to offer participants the opportunity to relax, share good practices and experiences as well as take field visit to some selected schools, including special schools for persons living with disabilities.
Mr James Kwesi Addison, an Emotional Intelligence Master Coach, who was one of the resource persons at the retreat stressed the importance of integrating emotional management in all STEM subjects in schools, particularly at basic and secondary schools.
“We should look at our syllabus and make sure that we can teach every subject with emotional intelligence… to build empathy, collaboration, teamwork, and listening in the children, which are the skills that predicts future success.
“Every good academic performance has its basis in emotional stability. That simply means that any child that is doing very well in school has very good emotions,” he said.
Mr Addison explained that since the coordinators and teachers were those who educate and groomed students for the future, it was important for them to be taken through emotional intelligence learning.
Mr Richard Arthur Payne, Central Regional STEM Coordinator, said the training would help them improve their knowledge of mathematics and science, as well as the psychology aspect of teaching.
He emphasized that STEM education in Ghana had improved because of the establishment of a resource centre for continuous learning and periodic workshops for coordinators and teachers.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL, ADUKROM
