New Educational Reforms To Focus On ‘S.T.E.M’ EDUCATION” – President Akufo-Addo
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has
indicated that, as part of the educational reforms being undertaken by
his government, he has directed the Ministry of Education, and the
Ministry responsible for Science and Technology to draw up programmes to
strengthen and upscale the study of Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (STEM) right from the basic level.
According to
President Akufo-Addo, it is the aim of his government to enroll more
science students in the country’s educational system, “so as to achieve
our initial target of 60% science students in our technical
institutions.”
Additionally, the President indicated that his
government has drawn up very elaborate programmes and strategies to
strengthen Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) at all
levels of the educational system.
“It is my conviction that TVET
is one of the main strategic policies of government aimed at the
development of Ghanaian human resources. The major objective of TVET is
to prepare people for the job market so that they can be productive and
be of use to themselves, their families and society at large,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo made this known on Saturday, 18th November, 2017,
when he delivered a speech at the 20th convocation and graduation
ceremonies of the All Nations University College, in Koforidua, in the
Eastern Region.
Reiterating his commitment to increasing the
funding for research and development (R&D), the President noted that
in the short to medium term, one per cent of GDP will be devoted to
that.
“Eventually, this will be raised to 2.5% of GDP in the
long term. R&D funds will be made available for all research
activities in both public and private educational and research
institutions. It will take some time, but I am convinced that eventually
Ghana will reap the expected benefits of the policies that have been
put in place to transform education,” the President said.
In congratulating the University on the occasion of their 20th Convocation and Graduation Ceremonies, President added that “I come here today with a sense of pride in view of your recent achievement in launching GhanaSat-I into space. Indeed, your achievement has put Ghana on the map of nations that are venturing into space.”
With the
African Union about to set up a Space Agency for the whole of Africa,
President Akufo-Addo revealed that he has directed the Ministry of
Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation to express strongly
Ghana’s readiness to host the Agency, and mobilise support to that end.
“Clearly I was motivated to take that decision partly as a result of your recent successful launch of GhanaSat-1,” he said.
Whilst admitting that operating a private university in this part of
the world is not an easy task, President Akufo-Addo told authorities of
the All Nations University College, and other private universities that
government has taken measures to lessen the burden on them.
“The
abolishment of the 25% corporate income tax for private universities,
and the reduction in power tariffs for educational institutions,
including private ones, are some of the measures government has
undertaken,” he said.
It was the hope of President Akufo-Addo
that, “with these reliefs, private universities will plow their profits
into the development of educational infrastructure and improve teaching
and learning.”
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