Brilliant (NSMQ) students and their obsession with med school

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• Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 7 years ago

  If you had started your article with the definition of "brilliant", you would have discovered that it has nothing to do with either NMSQ, the sciences or even engineering.
  
  Those disciplines are a pathway to kill creativit ...
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  If you had started your article with the definition of "brilliant", you would have discovered that it has nothing to do with either NMSQ, the sciences or even engineering.
  
  Those disciplines are a pathway to kill creativity and stifle innovativeness....A place where all our youthful talents go to die.
  
  Because you hold great prospects in your own future, I would redirect you to focus on creative and critical analyses.
  
  This is what Ghana needs.
  
  NMSQ and the hard sciences have done nothing, and will continue to do nothing for Ghana. Period.

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• Nii Teiko 7 years ago

  Read:"I think Medicine is a great course, however, I believe if we want to be a prosperous nation, we need more and more of world class trained science related professionals such as Engineers of all kinds and other pure scien ...
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  Read:"I think Medicine is a great course, however, I believe if we want to be a prosperous nation, we need more and more of world class trained science related professionals such as Engineers of all kinds and other pure science and pure maths related professionals".
  
  Methinks the writer is making a good point but here in Ghana if you train a mechanical engineer you train a Kumasi-Suame Magazine based fitter; if you train an electrical engineer you just trained an electrician or an electrical technician, and if you train a medical student you train a paracetamol, codeine, and 'awe-awe' prescription specialist. Our nurses only specialize in giving shot or injection to patients, our pharmacists are just dispensers of drugs. It is very ironic that the brilliant guys, the all round students in our schools just waste their talents after graduation in the sciences. Call it intellectual laziness if you want.
  
  On the other hand the chaff in the school system struggled to become 'criminals' at law instead of attorneys at law. Train an accountant in Ghana and he become a magician( the professor Hindus, Issahs, Abdul Fatawus and the Ehohome-Kukuetos); they can manage to squeeze zeros into spaces to turn a thousands into millions. And the irony is that the weak minds become our leaders and call the shots. Na OmanGhana for you.

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• Tekonline.org 7 years ago

  But SAS, while a bank robber can be very creative and employ plenty of critical analyses in his or her trade, would that really help Ghana?
  
  Yes, our educational system should do well to produce well-rounded students. But t ...
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  But SAS, while a bank robber can be very creative and employ plenty of critical analyses in his or her trade, would that really help Ghana?
  
  Yes, our educational system should do well to produce well-rounded students. But the fact remains that the hard sciences offer the best path to prosperity for the nation. There is not much we can do to change that reality.
  
  I quite agree with you: creativity and critical analysis should be the pillars of our educational system. I would even throw in logical reasoning -- extremely important in today's extensively computerized world.
  
  If we are going to train musicians, let us produce original composers who would provide new hymns for the churches. Our new law graduates should have the knack to promote reforms in our legal system with deep critical analyses. The students of History would be expected to unearth Africa's indigenous philosophical works and present to world, the way world gave us Hume, Nietzsche, and Lao Tzu.
  
  Yes, in every discipline, students should display creativity, critical analyses, logical reasoning, and above all passion.
  
  And that is even more important in hard sciences.
  
  Let me emphasize, in no uncertain terms, that the world is becoming more and more dependent on technology and the information sciences in practically every sphere of our lives.
  
  We seem to be getting to the point where robotic systems armed with the deep-learning variety of artificial intelligence are poised to take over many of our human activities.
  
  Almost every nation on the planet is paying attention to these trends and vigorously emphasizing STEM (Science Engineering Technology and Mathematics) education.
  
  My only beef with the lady's article is that Ghana actually needs plenty of medical professionals. Not just the numbers but especially the quality.
  The state of medical care in Ghana is still inadequate by all standards.
  
  While every discipline has an important role to play in a prosperous society, our first priority is to keep people alive. We wouldn't want our great head of state constantly hospitalized in Frankfurt, or fifty percent of the workforce regularly down with malaria at home.
  
  Ghana needs brilliant minds to first keep the populace alive, and secondly to equip Ghana with the scientific knowledge and the technological prowess required for true development.

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• Prof Lungu 7 years ago

  We agree that the state of medicine and healthcare in Ghana is inadequate, however we look at it.
  
  We want to draw your attention to the idea that the author, as far as we have been able to determine, was actually talking a ...
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  We agree that the state of medicine and healthcare in Ghana is inadequate, however we look at it.
  
  We want to draw your attention to the idea that the author, as far as we have been able to determine, was actually talking about the narrow focus on "Medical Doctors", (MD), not medical professionals as a group. In that sense, Bio-Med Eng, is of the latter, and possibly just as important for a nation, if all are equally well trained and motivated.
  
  Dr. Marthew makes a very important observation below to which you make a comment. We suspect UDS probably pays more attention to the technology side of the learning curve with the little they have that directly serve People (and customers), vice the theoretical.
  
  Finally, we would hope you were talking about traditional African "hymns", and African religious institutions, not the imported/non-native, WRT "train musicians", etc. That surely would be in balance with "Africa's indigenous philosophical works", on the other hand. Further, there is a lot to be said about even popular music now even produced by Ghanaians. Some of them are just as good, very well composed from the perspective of African sensibilities.
  
  History shows that far back in the 1700, a few of some of the Europeans you cite, (and possibly Thomas Jefferson, later), were actually behind the Anton Wilhelm Amo dis-credits. (If our memory serve us right, Francis Kwarteng wrote an essay or two on Ghana's original philosopher from Axim, before there was even a Gold Coast).
  
  Peace!

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• Tekonline.org 7 years ago

  Well spoken, Prof.
  
  What I really meant was the need for more primary care physicians(PCP), even though the system requires all types of medical professionals. After all, it takes a PCP to determine which medical technologi ...
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  Well spoken, Prof.
  
  What I really meant was the need for more primary care physicians(PCP), even though the system requires all types of medical professionals. After all, it takes a PCP to determine which medical technologists can be brought into the game, once proper diagnosis has been established.
  
  Accurate diagnosis, even when all the evidence is in, is what often is lacking.
  
  So, I wouldn't mind at all if all the youngsters want to be primarily PCPs. We simply don't have enough of them, and the few we do have, more often than not, would be mistaking every serious disorder for malaria!
  
  Regarding Africa's philosophers of ages past, we need to more to dig and dig, even though in most cases, records were hardly kept. The kids need to know.
  
  You only have to listen to the wise musings of an Okyeame to know that we do have philosophy in our blood, yet not a single philosopher has been documented. (Btw, I drew Francis Kwarteng's attention to Amo, after a treatise on the philosopher by Anthony Kwame Appiah).
  
  Another endangered cultural species is "Borbor Mfantse", a highly embellished and poetic brand of Fante associated with certain parts of the Central Region, particularly Winneba.
  
  The poetic and philosophical style of that language would easily put William Shakespeare to shame.
  
  Please make sure in your lifetime, you can hear an oration delivered in Borbor Fante, if any Borbor Fante orators are still alive.

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• Prof Lungu 7 years ago

  Thanks for the follow up, Tekonline.org.
  
  Great information - WRT to Amo's story. We were previously, totally oblivious. Thanks.
  
  We hear you - PCP!
  
  Without belaboring points further, our sense is, we are all in ag ...
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  Thanks for the follow up, Tekonline.org.
  
  Great information - WRT to Amo's story. We were previously, totally oblivious. Thanks.
  
  We hear you - PCP!
  
  Without belaboring points further, our sense is, we are all in agreement that more need doing, on all fronts. For instance, if professionals with retirement incomes are going to retire in Ghana in huge numbers, it is crucial that the practice of medicine and hygiene in Ghana be considerably improved/increased as a matter of urgent public policy. That is sure to improve conditions for the ordinary Ghanaian on more than one fronts, including more funding for PCPs.
  
  We looked into 1960-1980 data and actually found that Kwame Nkrumah's effort actually produced more physicians and hospital beds per capita than during the 2 decades that followed his overthrow. Most of the physicians were likely PCPs.
  
  In Ghana (and Africa), on account of outlook on life in general and lack of education, it may well be we need a lot more hygienists and basic lab technologies, you will probably agree.
  
  How well is Ghana able to adopt tried and tested technologies from other countries that work but may be a bit labor intensive, rather than trying to engineer new ones that only kill jobs and give less bang for the money?
  
  In sum, on these forums, we've always tried to encourage women (Ghanaian women, to be exact), to provide more of these types of essays. And when it comes from a student such as Ms. Janet Awotwe, you will agree we all are doubly blessed. Her paper is better composed than many we've read that were written by professors, lawyers, and journalists in state and private media.
  
  As you suggest, we will surely check up/read up on oration delivered in Borbor Fante. At the minimum, we will not miss the Afahye festival next time we are in the neck of the woods. It will be our first.
  
  My apologies for the ramble.........!
  
  Greetings.

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• Prof Lungu 7 years ago

  Straight up, we'd like to congratulate Prempeh College for winning the 2017 NSMQ competition.
  
  Above, Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law, writes as if "creative and critical analyses" are disciplines, professions, or even trades.
  ...
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  Straight up, we'd like to congratulate Prempeh College for winning the 2017 NSMQ competition.
  
  Above, Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law, writes as if "creative and critical analyses" are disciplines, professions, or even trades.
  
  Or, even that "creative and critical analyses" can endow students with a life skills.
  
  Not!
  
  And so, we'd like to commend Ms. Janet Arkorful Awotwe for this excellent piece.
  
  Her essay is simply a report about the "National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) that was held on her campus. Ms. Awotwe actually took time to attend a "socialization event" and had many opportunities to interact with some of the students who competed in the NSMQ.
  
  Her analysis of Medical Doctor versus Bio-Medical Engineering is spot on, if one is current on the state of technology, research, and intellectual property this Global/Information age.
  
  And she actually spent some time to help mentor a student who clearly did not have enough information to properly evaluate the differences between and being Medical Doctor (Md) and being Bio-Medical Engineer (BioMed-Eng).
  
  READ: "...To our headmasters; Let's make sure our brilliant contestants and those who are not contesting but are equally brilliant are exposed to the varied options of courses and careers they could build in other fields...".
  
  WE SAY: Right on!
  
  Our thanks to Student-Nurse Ms. Janet Maame Serwaa Arkorful.
  
  WE SAY: Keep up the good work, Ms. You are a credit to all up-and-coming young Ghanaian professionals. Give us more, when you time allows.
  
  Greetings.

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• Prof Lungu 7 years ago

  Or, even that "creative and critical analyses" can endow students with life-skills.

  Or, even that "creative and critical analyses" can endow students with life-skills.

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• Kweku 7 years ago

  The SHS students know and see how science graduates suffer and disrespected in this country. The students simply don't want to become like their disappointed seniors who pursued pure science programmes at the universities.

  The SHS students know and see how science graduates suffer and disrespected in this country. The students simply don't want to become like their disappointed seniors who pursued pure science programmes at the universities.

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• Tekonline.org 7 years ago

  Pure science is what drives everything -- from iPhones to MRI machines.
  
  We have excellent doctors who seems totally unable to handle your aunt's breast cancer only because pure science has not yet figured out how to stop c ...
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  Pure science is what drives everything -- from iPhones to MRI machines.
  
  We have excellent doctors who seems totally unable to handle your aunt's breast cancer only because pure science has not yet figured out how to stop cancerous growth. Physicians are applied scientists and can only implement what comes out of pure science.
  
  Also bear in mind, being a pure scientists is not about personal wealth. It is rather unfortunate that students in third world countries have seen so many hardships in their lives that they see every intellectual activity as a means to personal wealth.
  
  Without people who are very passionate and deeply curious about pure science, the nation would not move forward. As many are finding out, not even all the money in the world is saving breast cancer patients -- to pick one common example.
  
  Pure scientists provide the foundation for solving society's problems through doctors and engineers.

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• Luther king 7 years ago

  Janet, u messed the Youngman up big time. In Ghana doctors are the alpha and omega. They are the best paid public servants. In the health sector biomedical engineers are those who install,maintain and repair medical equipment ...
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  Janet, u messed the Youngman up big time. In Ghana doctors are the alpha and omega. They are the best paid public servants. In the health sector biomedical engineers are those who install,maintain and repair medical equipment. The work under doctors, less respected and paid little. I encourage the Youngman's parents to still ask him to pursue his medical dream. He can try Knust,uds, or cape coast universities. They all do medicine.

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• Dr.Marthew 7 years ago

  I think science and maths education should not only be about "intellectual brilliance". I have employed Legon, Kunst,Ucc, Uds etc in my company but surprisingly, the UDS students are the best so far as my experience with the ...
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  I think science and maths education should not only be about "intellectual brilliance". I have employed Legon, Kunst,Ucc, Uds etc in my company but surprisingly, the UDS students are the best so far as my experience with them is concern. They have the attitude and work hard out of their heart unlike those I thought they are more brilliant. I think more focus must be taken to UDS to learn how they train their students to be that good. Sorry to say the best schools were the laziest. All the care about is money money money. We cannot develop that way

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• Tekonline.org 7 years ago

  Good personality and attitude to work, among others, are important gems for any profession, but intellectual brilliance still matters, they way the world is going.
  
  Some of the areas in science and technology gradually bec ...
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  Good personality and attitude to work, among others, are important gems for any profession, but intellectual brilliance still matters, they way the world is going.
  
  Some of the areas in science and technology gradually becoming the norm in our daily lives happen to be very intricate. Computer science is rapidly moving towards artificial intelligence and machine learning, areas that are 80% complex mathematics. Medical research is now employing CRISPR (gene editing) technology to handle the most intractably diseases. Mechanical engineering is becoming synonymous with 3D-printing.
  
  These are all advanced technologies that require nothing short of academic brilliance.

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• Simple 7 years ago

  This is because doctors are worshipped in Ghana as tin gods and extort money from patient to enrich themselves easily. Again they can open their own hospitals and clinics and work at state hospitals at the same time which is ...
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  This is because doctors are worshipped in Ghana as tin gods and extort money from patient to enrich themselves easily. Again they can open their own hospitals and clinics and work at state hospitals at the same time which is conflict of interest but nobody cares. So the so-called brilliant guys see all these and also want to enter to get rich through corrupt means

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