Redesign Science Curricula To Ensure Effective Teaching - Director

Mr John Hobenu, Northern Regional Director of Education, has stated that Ghana needs a well educated scientific class that can utilise its environment and natural resources to address challenges facing the nation.

He said it was imperative for teachers of science and technology to redesign the curricula and teaching methodology for the realisation of this dream.

Mr Hobenu said this in a speech read for him at the closing ceremony of a 5-day Science, Technology Mathematics and Education (STME) workshop organised by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports and the Ghana Education Service in Tamale yesterday.

The workshop, which drew over 117 teachers of Science and Mathematics from all the Districts in the Region, was on the theme: 'STME, the teacher factor.'

Mr Hobenu said there was the need to identify and promote indigenous science and technology, which was vital in the elimination of illiteracy, ignorance, disease and poverty.

He said new educational reforms being implemented this year sought to encourage creativity among the youth to enable them change their perceptions and accept new ways of doing things to improve on the quality of life.

'The only way to level up to the developed world is through a concerted desire and effort to process scientific knowledge and skills and apply them to better our lot as a people,' he said.

Mr Hobenu appealed to District directorates of education and educational institutions to support science teachers to develop and link up with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratories and Science Resource Centres to achieve optimal use of the two related technologies.

He said the 'teacher factor' was undeniably the most important factor in the country's education delivery and it was in realisation of this therefore that the Government and other stakeholders were making every effort to build the capacity of teachers through workshops and other interventions.

Mr Charles Appiah, Deputy Co-ordinator of the National Science Resource Centre, said the workshop was to upgrade the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers to enable them effectively handle science subjects.

He said under the new educational reforms, Government was now placing more emphasis on the teaching of Science and Mathematics to help accelerate the country's industrial growth.

He said the topics selected for the workshop were based on the Chief Examiners report, which showed lapses in the teaching of certain subjects and the need to take measures to improve on the way they were being handled. Mr Appiah said the SMTE workshops would now be organised annually.

Source: GNA