June 24, 2022
The DreamOval Foundation and Nesta Challenges UK, representing the Consortium working on the Ghana Science and Tech Explorer Prize (GSTEP), on Tuesday, presented two reports to the Minister of Education, Honorable Dr. Yaw Adutwum. This brief event took place at the Ministry of Education, Accra. The reports were “The Practical STEM Education in Ghana – Barriers and Opportunities” and “GSTEP Design and Implementation Report.”
Present at the ceremony were the Minister of Education, the Chief Director of Education, and some other dignitaries from the ministry.
Presenting the report to the Minister, Francis Ahene-Affoh, one of the GSTEP coordinators, stated the importance of the government’s commitment to the GSTEP project and the benefits that the collaboration between the private and the public sectors would yield to the growth and promotion of STEM and practical education in Ghana. Also, he gave an overview of where the project commenced and the support they have derived from the Ministry of Education to secure funding from Fondation Botnar.
Mr. Ahene- Affoh also gave a brief overview of what transpired in year one of the project. The first year focused on the design and implantation of the project.
Constance Agyeman, from Nesta Challenges, also gave an account of what the challenge year holds for the program. She gave details of how the program would run in year two which includes the pilot challenge. The challenge would target 1000 Junior High School students in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions.
Hon. Dr. Yaw Adutwum thanked the DreamOval Foundation and the consortium for their immense support to boost STEM education and practical education in Ghana. He was particular about empowering young people to take up the mantle and drive change in practical learning in Ghana.
The Minister recounted an experience he had when he toured some select schools in Accra. A student from Bishop Girls taught her mates how to write codes using the scratch language. He iterated the government’s support for the success of the GSTEP initiative and hopes that students would adopt the program in the selected regions.
Hon. Adutwum further outlined the government’s commitment to STEM education through the building of STEM centers in senior high schools across the country. This is the vision of the President of Ghana.
The Minister thanked the team for the reports and advised that they will take a look at them and improve the learning of STEM education in Ghana.