Indigenous vital for country Education Minister

Saltpond, Aug 25, GNA - The Minister for Education, Youth and Sports, Mr Kodwo Baah-Wiredu, has stated that the building of an indigenous capability in science and technology is vital in eliminating illiteracy, ignorance, disease and poverty, in the country. The capacity of science and technology to change a person's attitude to accept new things and new ways of doing things to improve the quality of life calls for an expanded investment in human resources to manage technological change.

To ensure community participation and partnership in this endeavour, the Minister said the ministry had decided to set up Science and Technology Education Committees in all the regions and district to support, guide, mobilise and redirect resources to support science and technology education.

In a speech read on his behalf by the DCE for Mfantseman, Mr Robert Quainoo-Arthur, at the third Mfantseman District Science Technology and Mathematics Education Clinic at Saltpond on Tuesday, Mr Minister said the government was aware that new scientific advances and technological development had the promise for increased wealth and well being. He expressed the hope that science education being received by the youth would ensure poverty eradication.

Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, a Deputy Minister of Information, announced that a community information centre was being constructed at Saltpond to be furnished with computers and other gadgets to hook the district onto the Internet.

He also announced that the Ministry of Energy had set up a solar panel at Kormantse District Assembly Junior Secondary School to generate electricity for the school and parts of the town.

The Deputy Minister said the project was on pilot basis and would be replicated in other communities when it proved successful.

Mrs Sarah Wilson, Headmistress of the Mfantseman Girls Secondary School, said without a systematic acquisition of knowledge in science, technology and mathematics, the nation could not move forward. Miss Vivian Etroo, District STME Coordinator, said the inception of the clinic had demystified science subjects and both boys and girls were eager to study them in schools.

Mr Ebo Edzie, Assistant Director in charge of Finance and Administration at the Regional Education Office at Cape Coast, said science, technology and Mathematics application occupied the mind "making it impossible to think about evil things".

A total of 100 girls and 20 boys selected from schools in the district were participating in the six-day clinic.