By Yussif Ibrahim
Kumasi, Aug. 07, GNA – The Ministry of Education is seeking to flip the science-humanities ratio in the education system which currently stands at 60:40 in favour of humanities.
The move is part of efforts to encourage the study of science and technology to help make Ghana competitive in the fourth industrial revolution.
It is for this reason that the Ministry, through the Ghana Education Service (GES), is vigorously implementing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education at the basic and second-cycle levels.
Dr Eric Nkansah, Director–General of GES who announced this, said the objective was to flip the current situation in favour of the sciences by 2030 in order not to be left behind as a country in the industrial revolution.
He was speaking at the fourth graduation of the Jackson Institute of Technology (JIT) in Kumasi on the theme “Embracing Industry 4.0: Shaping the Future of Ghana with Technology.”
A total of 108 students received certificates in courses such as Introduction to information technology and key window application, web development, and data analytics as well as working smart with Microsoft Office and the Internet.
The Director-General said STEM education was not negotiable if the country was to remain relevant in the fast-paced technological advancement.
He said the fact that the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum was leading the campaign for STEM education himself, demonstrated the commitment of the government towards scaling up the study of science, technology and engineering.
“The challenge, however, is that at the senior high school level only about 12.5 per cent of the students there are pursuing science,” he said.
Dr Nkansah underlined the need for stakeholders to join forces to change the status quo at the senior high level, which was the pipeline to the tertiary, adding that the government was taking short and long-term measures to address the anomaly.
“The government is expanding and resourcing the science laboratories in existing senior high schools to increase their capacity to admit more science students.
We are also building new science resource centres in schools that never had one,” the Director-General stated.
Mr Daniel Jackson, Managing Director of JIT, said technology had become an “integral part of our daily lives, shaping the very existence of humans in profound ways.”
He said the 21st century had ushered in unprecedented changes and that it was important to be well-equipped to navigate this era of innovation.
Mr Jackson said JIT had come to provide learners with the requisite IT skills needed to be competitive and relevant in the digital space.
GNA