By Edward Dankwah
Accra, May 26, GNA – Dr Samuel Cornelius Nyarko, the Principal Investigator for the Climate Change and Health Project, has called for greater investment in climate change education, warning that misconceptions among teachers and students could undermine efforts to address the growing environmental crisis.
He said research conducted over the past five years among teachers and University students in Ghana showed that although many people had good knowledge of climate change, several misconceptions still existed.
The Principal Investigator spoke at a 3-day Climate Change and Health Education Professional Development Workshop in Accra, for 61 professional teachers in Senior Secondary Schools spanning across the country.
Dr Nyarko said some teachers wrongly associated climate change with ozone depletion and diseases such as cataracts, highlighting gaps in understanding climate-related concepts.
To address the challenge, he said researchers worked with representatives from the education and health sectors to develop a curriculum aimed at helping teachers better understand climate change and teach it effectively in classrooms.
Dr Nyarko, however, noted that despite the government’s investments in climate mitigation, little attention had been given to climate education and teacher training.
“Not even a dollar has been invested in training teachers to effectively teach climate change,” he said.
He called on the government to allocate more resources toward climate education and integrate environmental science, earth science, and geoscience into the basic school curriculum.
Dr Nyarko said the current climate-related content taught from primary school to junior high school remained shallow and insufficient to prepare students for emerging environmental challenges.
He stressed that Ghana already had trained professionals capable of supporting such reforms, citing the large number of geology students trained annually at the University of Ghana.
He urged greater recognition and support for teachers, describing them as key actors in climate awareness and education.
Dr Nyarko pointed to increasing floods, coastal erosion in areas such as Keta, and rising heat levels as clear evidence of climate change impacts already affecting communities across the country.
Dr Abigail Mercy Opong Tetteh, the Programme Manager for Indiana University Ghana Gateway, underscored the importance of equipping teachers with practical knowledge on climate change to improve climate education in schools.
She said one of the key objectives of the Ghana Gateway office was to support faculty development and research initiatives that connected Ghanaian institutions with global academic expertise.
She explained that the workshop sought to address the disconnect between discussions on climate change in public spaces and what was being taught in schools.
“We always talk about climate change at conferences and workshops, but teachers are often left out,” she added.
Dr Opong Tetteh said the three-day workshop was designed to build the capacity of teachers to effectively teach climate change concepts in their various schools using locally relevant approaches.
She noted that the training curriculum was developed within the Ghanaian educational context and not imported directly from abroad.
She said the Principal Investigator for the project was a Ghanaian academic currently teaching at Indiana University, who previously taught in Ghana and understood the country’s educational environment.
The Programme Manager added that facilitators for the workshop were also predominantly Ghanaian experts drawn from institutions including the Water Research Institute and the Ghana Education Service.
Dr Opong Tetteh expressed optimism that the training would help teachers effectively transfer climate knowledge to students and strengthen climate awareness at the community level.
GNA
Kenneth Odeng Adade