Apathy for science must stop -Tangu

Wa, Aug. 24, GNA - Mr Godfrey Bayong Tangu, Wa Municipal Chief Executive on Tuesday attributed Ghana's inability to advance technologically to apathy for the study of science and technology. "Over the years, Ghanaians did not attach so much importance to the study of technology, thereby allowing countries like Malaysia, Singapore and others we had independence with to advance ahead of us."

Mr Tangu said this in a speech read on his behalf during the opening ceremony of the Wa Municipal Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) clinic at Wa.

The programme was organised by the Wa Municipal Directorate of Education and co-sponsored by the Wa Municipal Assembly.

Mr Tangu said between 2001 and 2004, the Wa Municipal Assembly had spent a total of 63 million cedis for the organisation of STMEs over the years and hoped more scientists would be groomed out of the programmes. The MCE said the assembly had between 2001 and 2004, also spent over nine billion cedis for the construction of 62 classroom blocks for more communities in the assembly.

He urged tutors of the programme to use simple and understandable language for the students to understand.

Mrs Scholastica Gyiele, Wa Municipal Director of Education said, previously the STME clinics were centralised giving opportunities to only few students, but with the decentralisation of the programme, more students would be given the opportunity to participate in the programme. She said upon growing concern about the programme, the education sector had decided to include boys in the programme to ensure good gender distribution in the sciences.

Mrs Gyiele said the promotion of the STME programme was part of government's policy to step up its technological advancement to catch up with countries such as Malaysia, Japan and Singapore.

Mr George Guri of the Upper West Regional Science Foundation attributed lack of scientists in the region to the belief that science was the preserve of only boys and called on parents to assist their children to make good choices in science courses.

"We shall on our part encourage more girls to take up science, which was hitherto perceived as the preserve of boys," he concluded.