The Ghana Education Service (GES) Science Education Unit is presently holding a STEM/STEAM camp for Senior High School (SHS) students at GESDI in Saltpond, Central Region. Over 250 students from various SHSs across the country are attending the 5-day event, which commenced on February 20th. The learners are engaging in project-based activities to study STEM/STEAM topics such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, and Computing.
The Science, Technology, Mathematics and Innovation Education (STMIE) programme is organizing the event to enable students to build projects and practice piloting and flying drones. The STEM/STEAM event is part of a larger initiative by the Ghanaian government and other sponsors, including Academic City University, Omega Compu-Systems Engineering Ltd, Labs Ghana, Petroleum Commission, ACTS Robotics, German Cooperation, Giz, Energy Commission, and Blue Skies, to use STEM/STEAM to promote national development.
The theme for this year’s event is “Domesticating STEM/STEAM Education for National Development.” Its goal is to increase the per capita study of STEM/STEAM in SHSs, thereby propelling national development. According to the Director for Science Education Unit (National STEM Resource Centre), Mrs. Olivia Serwaa Opare, students with soft skills are more likely to contribute meaningfully to national development than their counterparts with other skills.
In line with GES’ policy to provide girls with the opportunity to study STEM/STEAM programs, all-girls senior high schools in Ghana are represented at the camp. Also, all the 13 schools under the Secondary Education Transformation Programme (SETP) are equally represented, giving students from such schools the opportunity to build projects. The organizers have also invited students from the Cape Coast special school to participate in the activities of the camp to demonstrate its inclusive nature.
The STEM/STEAM camp ends on February 24th, 2024, with a grand durbar at the Mfantsiman Girls SHS in Saltpond.
Source: Constechz.com