GES to operationalise STEM hubs across country – Mrs Opare

The Ghana Education Service will soon operationalize all the 16 new regional Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) hubs being constructed by the government, the Director of the Science Education Unit of the service, Mrs. Olivia Serwaa Opare, has said.

The facilities, which are more than 70 percent completed across all the regions, when operationalized, will serve as centres of excellence for the training of STEM instructors and aid in promoting science and innovative education in the country.

Speaking to journalists after the opening of a five-day retreat for national STEM coordinators at Adukrom in the Okere Municipality of the Eastern Region on Wednesday, Ms. Opare said the construction of the centres formed part of the government’s agenda for STEM education in the country.

She said, “Very soon you will see one STEM hub in each of our 16 regions. They are under construction and are about 70 percent complete.”

She said the government had invested heavily in promoting STEM by increasing the supply of equipment that would help provide students with hands-on training in skills development in the country.

Mrs. Opare said STEM education had witnessed some dramatic improvement over the last seven years due to the commitment of the Minister of Education and the government.

“Ghanaian students have received numerous worldwide STEM awards, in addition to competing in the worldwide Scientific Physics Olympiad held in Russia,” she emphasized.

The five-day retreat was to offer participants the opportunity to relax, share good practices and experiences, as well as take field visits to some selected schools, including special schools for persons living with disabilities.

Mr. James Kwesi Addison, an Emotional Intelligence Master Coach, who was one of the resource persons at the retreat, stressed the importance of integrating emotional management in all STEM subjects in schools, particularly at basic and secondary schools.

“We should look at our syllabus and make sure that we can teach every subject with emotional intelligence… to build empathy, collaboration, teamwork, and listening in the children, which are the skills that predict future success.

“Every good academic performance has its basis in emotional stability. That simply means that any child that is doing very well in school has very good emotions,” he said.

Mr. Addison explained that since the coordinators and teachers were those who educate and groom students for the future, it was important for them to be taken through emotional intelligence learning.

Mr. Richard Arthur Payne, Central Regional STEM Coordinator, said the training would help them improve their knowledge of mathematics and science, as well as the psychological aspect of teaching.

He emphasized that STEM education in Ghana had improved because of the establishment of a resource centre for continuous learning and periodic workshops for coordinators and teachers.