For SHS students in Saltpond at GESDI in the Central Region, the Ghana Education Service organizes a STEM/STEAM Camp through its Science Education Unit.
Almost 250 SHS students from chosen SHSs across the nation attended the event, which is currently taking place, to learn about some STEM/STEAM themes.
The five-day event, which began on February 20th, divided the kids into various classes for project-based learning. Some of the subjects the campers are learning include physics, chemistry, math, biology, and computing.
Students are permitted to construct projects and practice flying drones as part of the Science, Technology, Mathematics and Innovation Education (STMIE) program.
The Government of Ghana aims to leverage STEM/STEAM for national development in partnership with other sponsors such as Academic City University, Omega Compu-Systems Engineering Ltd, Laboratories Ghana, Petroleum Commission, ACTS Robotics, German Cooperation, Giz, Energy Commission, and Blue Skies.
The children are thrilled to be learning principles in robotics, coding, and programming so they may compete in the global job market of the twenty-first century.
The event, which has as its topic “Domesticating STEM/STEAM Education for National Development,” intends to boost STEM/STEAM studies per student in SHSs in order to advance national development.
According to Mrs Olivia Serwaa Opare, the Director of the Science Education Unit (National STEM Resource Centre), “Students with soft skills have the capacity to contribute meaningfully to national development as compared to their peers with other skills.”
It is noteworthy that all females in senior high schools across the nation are represented at the camp as part of the GES’s initiative to give girls the chance to pursue STEM/STEAM programs.
Again, equal representation from each of the 13 schools included in the Secondary Education Transformation Plan (SETP) allows students from those institutions to participate in project-based learning.
To highlight the inclusive aspect of the camp, students from the Cape Coast Special School also participate in camp activities.
On Friday, February 24, 2024, a spectacular durbar will mark the conclusion of this year’s camp at the Mfantsiman Girls SHS in Saltpond.