Accra, March 12, GNA – Mr Abeiku Sagoe, Veteran Actor and Producer, has called for the creation of a balance in Arts education and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, saying, the two areas of study should complement each other.
“Our priority could be engineering, but the gap between Engineering, Science and Arts should not be that wide. Mind you, both subjects are essential to building the country’s human capacities and skills as well as socio-economic development,” he stated.
Mr Abeiku Sagoe said this to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a maiden inter-school debate to mark Ghana’s Cultural Day celebration.
The Day is commemorated by the Ghana Cultural Forum (GCF) every March 14 to showcase the varying cultures in the country and was on the themes, “Strengthening the cultural and creative industry for socio-economic development.”
Mr Sagoe said countries such as the United States of America, South Korea, among others, that were advanced in Science and Engineering were still promoting their arts and culture because it was a major earner for them.
He said Ghana had a comparative advantage over others with its peculiar culture, adding that, the sector if well-developed would rake in enormous investment returns.
The veteran actor said Ghanaian artists could be recognised globally if their works were based on indigenous culture
“We cannot be photocopies of others arts and culture and expect to move forward with it. Other countries are far ahead of us because they have built their creative arts in their culture,” he stressed.
Mrs Marian Tackie, a Member of the Forum of African Women Educationists, reiterated the need to transform and prioritise the cultural sector to harness, develop and utilise cultural assets for wealth creation and socio-economic development.
She said that could be achieved through strengthened state institutions, legal and policy and regulatory frameworks to facilitate viable engagements among stakeholders in the creative and cultural industries.
“We need to learn from successful countries by adapting their best practices, and through the creation of conducive, policy and funding environment to boost our cultural and creative industries,” she added.
Mr Ahuma Bosco Ocansy, Vice Chairman, Ghana Culture Forum, said the inclusion of the inter-school debate on the day was to imbibe in students the essence and benefits of culture.
He said: “In Ghana, the time to put more value in our culture as an economic resource is now, especially in areas such as music, language, traditional festivals, among others. It is in this light that this inter-school debate by the students is very significant,” he said.
After two rounds of debate among four schools, Accra Girls Senior High School emerged the overall winner with 218 points, followed by St. John’s Grammar Senior High School with 215 points and Teshie Presbyterian Senior High School with 207 points, respectively.
Ebenezer Senior High School was disqualified for breaching a code of conduct in the debate after garnering 241 points.
The schools were presented with a laptop each for participation.
GNA