The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has made a very profound statement at the ongoing 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which has set the internet ablaze.
The Minister, who was making a submission at the ‘Transforming Education’ Summit, waxed philosophical by saying, “You can’t memorise your way out of poverty but you can critically think and innovate out of poverty.”
Dr. Adutwum’s speech, which has since attracted both positive and negative comments on social media was in relation to the grammar-type educational system being operated in Ghana and other parts of Africa.
According to the Minister, the curriculum being used in Ghana and other Africa countries, where students are taught everything from the text books by their teachers and finally assessed in an examination is not helpful.
Dr. Adutwum said it does not make these students critical thinkers and went ahead to narrate a story about how no single student in all the schools he has visited could ask him a question, after he made a submission to them.
He said the children are unable to ask questions because they have been tamed by the mode of teaching and learning that is being practiced in the country.
Providing a solution, the Minister said that until Ghana and other African countries adopt an ‘Assertive Curriculum” which is geared towards making young people challenge the status quo, no amount of access to education can transform the African child into a thinker and innovator.
Whilst some have viewed this as a serious situation that deserves attention, especially in Ghana, others have also questioned why the Minister is talking about this age-old problem now.
For some Ghanaians, the phenomena is one of the reasons the minister was appointed to come and solve, so why the lamentation.
The Chronicle would like to point out that we are not oblivious of the track record of Dr Adutwum when it comes to the area of education. He worked as a Mathematics and Information Technology teacher in the United States for ten years.
We are, therefore, not surprised about how he is ensuring that education is as practical as possible and not only a theory. He is on the right path as he is already championing the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) which remains the foundation of any country’s development.
The government has taken the necessary steps to make STEM the new paradigm of the country’s education.
The passion which Dr Adutwum has towards the STEM paradigm is what has made the Akufo-Addo led administration commit to construct 35 STEM Senior High Schools and 5 tertiary institutions.
Aside this, the Minister has personally sponsored students from his district; Bosomtwe district to undertake STEM related courses at the University of Mines and Technology.
We must all critically examine the Minister’s statement to help us find a viable solution to changing our educational system, in the face of overwhelming global technological advances.
The world is inclining towards technology and as such it requires that we make a conscious effort towards achieving the STEM paradigm.
Reports have shown that the issue of high levels of unemployment in the country is because people do not possess the requisite skills needed for the jobs available.
However, governments over the years have not been able to bridge the gap between industry and education to get the needed results.
Students at vocational and technical training schools struggle to undertake practical lessons when they have been taken through the theory and so they still come out of school with no sense of innovation at all.
Again, studies have shown that children are able to grasp things in their formative stages than when they are grown.
It is, therefore, our submission that the government consider starting the STEM education at the elementary level, instead of waiting for the children to get to the second cycle institution.
The world is leaning towards technology. We must make the necessary investment in education so that our children can innovate their way out of poverty.
