The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Ghana (AIMS-Ghana) is embarking on outreach programmes to promote teaching and learning of Mathematics at all levels of education in Ghana.
The programme would target teachers and pupils in the most deprived areas to help bridge the gap between pupils/students in rural areas and their counterparts in urban centres.
The initiative is a partnership between the Government through the Ministry of Education and AIMS-Ghana to train teachers in modern ways of teaching Mathematics and demystify the subject as being considered as an abstract one.
AIMS is a non-profit making Pan-African Network of Mathematical Centres in Africa.
The Kwahu Afram Plains North District is being selected to pilot the teacher training exercise.
To this end, a total of 50 teachers at the pre-tertiary level in the District have been selected for a five-day intensive training at Donkorkrom.
Speaking on behalf of Professor Francis K. A. Allotey, the President of AIMS-Ghana, to open the five-day training programme, Ms Sarah Osei, a Career Development and External Relations Manager for AIMS-Ghana, stated that the teaching and learning of Mathematics was a problem in Ghana.
Therefore, she said, AIMS-Ghana was committed to liaising with all stakeholders in education to raise pupils’ interest in learning the subject.
She noted Mathematics was the bedrock of Modern Economies, therefore, it was critical to whip up the interest in studying Mathematics to demystify it.
“Despite the importance of Mathematical and Quantitative Skills, there is a decline in the number of skilled Mathematics teachers at the pre-tertiary level in Ghana,” she said.
According to Ms Osei, Mathematics equipped individuals to think logically and become problem solvers, explaining that one of the key skills needed in Ghana’s developmental agenda was the development of Mathematical talents.
She said AIMS, as Africa’s first network of centres of excellence for post-graduate scientific training, research, industry and public engagement in Mathematical Sciences, had the objective of delivering excellent teaching, research and education in Mathematical Sciences.
“AIMS has it as a mission to enable Africa’s brightest students flourish as independent thinkers, problem solvers and innovators capable of propelling Africa’s future scientific, industrial, educational and economic self-sufficiency,” she added.
Ms Osei urged the participants to take advantage of the training and share their challenges in teaching Mathematics with the facilitators for a holistic training that could impart directly on pupils’ performance.
Mr Gabriel Adu, the District Education Director for Afram Plains North, expressed appreciation to AIMS-Ghana for choosing the district for the pilot project, and pledged his outfit’s support in making the training programme a success and to help raise performance in mathematics in the district.
AIMS has established centres of excellence in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Tanzania and aims at establishing 15 centres of excellence across Africa by 2025.
Meanwhile, the Institute has produced more than 731 graduates from 41 African nations with more than 30 per cent of these scholars being women.
