The Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, says the government is investing in state-of-the-art school infrastructure to meet the needs of 21st-Century learning. These projects, the Minister said, would revolutionise the country’s educational space and make it fit for purpose.
Dr Adutwum said the Juaben model of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Senior High School (SHS), the Sunyani model of STEM SHS and others are ongoing and due for completion.
He said the Accra STEM School, from kindergarten to the SHS level, was already completed and ready to be opened in September 2024.
Dr Adutwum announced this during the opening of this year’s International Educators Summit being held at the International Community School in Accra.
It is on the theme: “Reimagining Education for the Future We Seek: Africa and the World in Dialogue.”
It is being organised by the Ghana Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
The Minister said the government had made investments in renovating schools like Kumasi High School and Aflao Community SHS with modern educational facilities to improve learning outcomes.
On the selection of 12 SHS schools to offer Aviation and Aerospace courses to increase STEM education in the country, the minister said, we need to teach assertive school children to be confident and express themselves without fear.
The school heads must create a congenial school environment for the pupils to ask questions in class instead of being intimidated.”
He commended the organisers of the Summit, saying the event was a catalyst for change through which ideas were nurtured.
Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, Senior Presidential Adviser said education must play a meaningful role in addressing a problem. “We need to think about education to solve problems like sanitation and flooding, among others,” he said.
Dr Patrick Awuah, Founder of Ashesi University, underscored the importance of inculcating good values in their students to succeed.
“Integrity and performance are highly integrated. Our students do not see cheating as a pathway to success,” he said.
Dr Charles Yeboah, Executive Director, Ghana ASCD, said the Summit was to address challenges in the education sector and explore new frontiers of educational technology.
He said since its inception in 2017, Ghana ASCD has been hosting educational conferences tailored for teachers, and school administrators to enhance education in the country.
In another development, the Director General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor has described teachers as the lifeline of every nation and should not be underestimated.
He explained that “Teachers make nations, we must never look down upon ourselves, and neither should we be attracted to this profession because it is the last resort with nowhere else to go”.
Speaking at the 16th Congregation of the Offinso College of Education over the weekend, Prof. Jinapor described teachers as the oxygen and breath of every country, saying that lecturers, scientists, engineers, clergy and even politicians were products of teachers.
The event saw 458 students of the 2022/2023 batch who are the second batch of the B. Ed. Programme graduating, of which 49 of them had First Class (15 being females), 291 had Second Class Upper Division, 110 Second Class Lower Division and eight candidates managing a Third Class score with no Pass class.
The Congregation, which attracted people from all walks of life was under the theme: “Equipping the Young Teacher for the 21st Century Classroom”.
Prof. Jinapor used the occasion to praise the leadership of the college for accomplishing another impressive student’s performance and pledged GTEC’s commitment towards supporting teacher educational delivery in the country as well as other initiatives that promote educational leadership development in the country.
He stated that “for us at GTEC, we will continue to work towards the attainment of our vision of ensuring equitable access to relevant world-class tertiary education”.
Great strides
“Again, the introduction of the Special Accreditation Committee to augment the Traditional Accreditation setup has led to the accreditation of 982 programs for just this year, in addition to about 1200 programs for the last part of last year,” Prof. Jinapor said.
The DG was upbeat that the nation stood a better chance of equipping young teachers with the skills of the 21st-century classroom if only they were dedicated and committed to the teaching profession.
The Principal of Offinso College of Education (OCoE), Very Rev. Dr Joseph Nkyi Asamoah announced that they have adequately equipped their 2nd batch of the 4-year B. Ed. graduating students with the necessary techniques and skills. He added that this was to empower them to go out and improve learning outcomes and ensure that children are motivated to be life-long learners beyond their time in school.
By Felix Baidoo
