A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, Prof. Jophus Anamoah Mensah says there is the need for Ghana to build a strong STEM labor force to exploit Ghana’s natural resources.
This he notes is in view of the country’s aim at achieving national development.
He explains that Ghana is endowed with rich natural resources but remains untapped because of limited human capital in the nation.
“If we have to harness these vast resources and add value to them, we need to build a strong talented, and innovative STEM workforce. Without that, we cannot move in the direction we want to move.” He emphasized.
Speaking at the climax of the 4th Ghana Science Olympiad (GSO) for schools under the Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP), Professor Anamoah Mensah indicated that, it is necessary for Ghana to address the human capital needs in the area of Science and Engineering with a sense of urgency since STEM education is a catalyst for nation-building.
Meanwhile, addressing the participants of the Olympiad who were from both the Central and Western regions, the chief mentor for the programme, Dr. Mrs. Genevieve Adukpo who is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cape Coast urged the students to know their values since it is key to helping them make good decisions in life.
She said, “You are the only person who can write your own story. Nobody can write it for you and in doing that you must know your values and stick to them. Your values are what you personally believe in and you believe they are right.”
The Ghana Science Olympiad is a policy intervention organized annually by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service to help students in Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP) schools to develop critical thinking skills and expose them to practical aspects of Science and Mathematics.
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This is aimed at improving the students’ knowledge to better understand their world and to choose science-related careers for accelerated national development.
Source: Rosemond Asmah/ATLFMNEWS
