Ahafoman Senior High School wins 2023 National Stem Innovation competition

The Ahafoman Senior High School on Wednesday surprised the country with its supremacy in innovation and technological knowhow by beating 24 other Senior High as well asTechnical and Vocational education Training Institutions nationwide by scoring 164 points to emerge winners of the 2023 edition of the National Stem Innovation competition in Accra.

The Ahafoman SHS team presented a project on the Flexible Use of Electricity, where they generate electrical power through a locally modified generator and accumulator connected to a solar panel to power a plant-based incubator.

For their prize, the three contestants and their coaches would be sponsored to spend one week in Japan where they would participate in an international STEM competition next year as well as a four-year full scholarship in any Engineering University in Ghana.

As part of their prize they also took home an amount of GH¢50,000 cash from the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), a desktop computer donated by Omega Computers, GH¢20,000vlife insurance cover from Glidco Insurance company, medals STEM textbooks.

The three female contestants who represented the Ahafoman SHS, a mixed school were also presented with the “Girls Team Award” of GH¢5000 from Bountiful Technologies while their coaches were presented with mobile phones from Motorola.

The second-placed Wesley Grammar SHS received a GH¢30,000 cash prize, a laptop, and a printer; whereas, the third-placed Bosomtwe Girls’ had a GH¢20,000 cash prize, a laptop, and a printer.  

The second place position went to Wesley Grammar SHS with a score of 150 points while the Bosomtwe Girls’ STEM SHS which had 143 points placed third in the competition.

For their prizes, Wesley GrammarSHS took home Gh30,000 cash, a laptop, STEM textbooks, a one-year life insurance cover from Glidco, medals, and a trophy while the Bosomtwe Girls STEM Academy also went home with Gh20,000 cash, a one-year insurance cover, STEM textbooks, medals, and other, souvenir.

Specific project awards Urban Gardening Award 1st Place - Urban Gardening Award: Wesley Grammar SHS, 2nd Place - Urban Gardening Award: Bosomtwe Girls Stem SHS, 3rd Place - Urban Gardening Award: Dabokpa Technical Institute.

Clean Water 1st Place - Clean Water: Swedru SHS, 2nd Place - Clean Water: Akuse Methodist SHS, 3rd Place - Clean Water: Bosomtwe Stem Academy. Effective Use of Electricity 1st Place - Effective Ue of Electricity: Ahafoman SHS, 2nd Place –Effective Use of Electricity: St Louis SHS, 3rd Place - Effective Use of Electricity: Applied Technology Institute Core Values Award went to Kpando Technical Institute, Engineering Award went to Suntreso SHTS, while Dabokpa Technical Institute was awarded the Best Presentation and Wesley Grammar SHS got an award as the Best Stem Project.

The Education Minister Dr YawOsei Adutwum, who was so excited at the performance of the students expressed his gratitude to the judges and coaches for their guidance, and headmasters/headmistresses for encouraging the children to participate in the completion.

He was upbeat that the skills and innovation exhibited by the various schools attested to the fact that the education of the nation’s education reforms were yielding great results.

Dr Adutwum said that the government would continue to put in more effort towards engaging various stakeholders in the country towards revamping the nation’s economy through prudent education policies that stand the chance of making the nation an educational hub for the African continent.

The Education Minister congratulated all the competing institutions and urged the students to continue working very hard towards becoming what they aspire to achieve in life. Dr Adutwum pledged to build a new science laboratory for the Ahafoman SHS who won the competition although they do not have a science laboratory in the school.

The Deputy Coordinator of the Free Senior High School praised all the sponsors and institutions that played various roles towards the second edition of the competition. She stated that his office would continue to work extra hard to ensure an improvement in the subsequent editions of the competition to help enhance the teaching and learning of science in schools across the country.

Background

The competition organised by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP) provided a platform for the students to showcase STEM projects they had developed to solve societal problems.

This year’s projects were grouped under three categories, namely Urban Gardening, Clean Water, and Effective Use of Electricity.