Let’s promote girl–child education in STEM, the world revolves around technology – GES

Mrs Olivia Serwaa Opare, Director in-charge of Science Education, Ghana Education Service (GES), says girls must be given the exposure to build their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.

STEM education, she said, helped pupils and students to develop the acumen for creative and analytical thinking, while building their innovative skills.

This was what the nation needed to nurture problem-solvers capable of addressing the development challenges confronting the society, Mrs Opare told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra.

“Girls should be motivated to have the ‘I can do’ spirit, because the world revolves around STEM,” the Director noted.

According to her, given the essence of STEM education to the Ghanaian society, the Government had pumped investment in such specialised education – constructing STEM schools, equipping science laboratories with the requisite tools and also assisting science teachers to build their competencies in science and technology-based courses.

She was upbeat that with the current state of development in schools, many students across the country could have access to STEM-based education without struggling at all.

The Government in the 2022 budget, announced plans for the construction of 35 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Senior High Schools (SHS) as well as five STEM-based universities in five of the new regions as part of the effort to increase the intake of students into fields which held the key to the industrialisation of a country.

Mrs Opare advised female students pursuing STEM courses to take their studies seriously to enhance their career development.

GNA