The Mfantsiman Senior High School on Monday 20th June 2022 successfully defended its regional championship at the central regional senior high school renewable energy challenge.
This was at the third edition of the challenge organized by the Energy Commission in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service.
The Mfantsiman girls secured 86 points to win the challenge which had 10 Senior High Schools from the region competing.
This year’s challenge was on the theme: clean cooking and food processing using renewable energy technologies.
The challenge was geared towards promoting the efficient use of electricity and renewable energy resources through public education, training, and regulation of entrepreneurs in the sector.
It is also to facilitate the mainstreaming of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and programmes into the curriculum of educational and training institutions.
According to the Director of Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and climate change, Mr. Kofi AGYARKO, the aim of the challenge is to promote creative thinking and to provide mentorship to young students. He said it is to also take away the fear of public speaking from the youth.
He however in a remark to the contestants urged them to eschew the chew, pour, pass, and forget phenomenon in the educational system.
He said “It is vital that we eliminate the chew, pour, pass and forget phenomenon in the educational system of Ghana as well as the myth that research and project development are the preserve of science students. The winners of last year’s edition who were Arts students is ample evidence that the myth is completely broken.”
The future of student’s projects
Mr. Kofi Agyarko also noted that plans have been made to further help the winners accomplish success with their desired projects.
Speaking to ATLFMNEWS after the programme, he said “we have collaborated with one of the Institutes of Center for Scientific Industrial Research, Institute of Industrial Research to take the project of the winners to help them improve upon it and also train the kids to bring out the goodness in them. So we are still negotiating with them to sign a memorandum of understanding because a time will come where these projects that the students have made will be selling on the market.”
On her part, the Central Regional Director of Education, Mrs. Martha Owusu Agyeman admonished energy-based companies to invest in the challenge as the government is also ready to improve Stem education in the country.
The winners also expressed their joy for being able to defend their title and urged the government to support their project, “production of biogas out of waste substances”, as they have a lot in store to showcase to the world.
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Source: Abigail Amoakowaah Adu & Dorcas Akpakudi/ATLFMNEWS
