The Korea International Cooperation Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service, has launched the “Promotion of Girls’ Competency in Mathematics and Science with a Gender Responsive Pedagogy” project aimed at getting more girls to enroll in STEM-related programs.
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, the Director General of Ghana Education Service, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, said a lot of Ghanaian girls lag behind when it comes to the study of mathematics, science and accounting related programs.
According to him, the few girls who try their possible best to compete with their counterparts (males) in the study of the above are also tagged with all forms of names, and when care is not taken, the few brave ones will rescind from the study.
He said the reason for this happening could be attributed to the way Ghanaian parents bring up their children.
“If you consider the way we bring up or train our children in this country, it accounts for that,” he said.
Most Ghanaian parents have a lot more confidence in their male children than in their female children, and as a result, think that they should read accounting, mathematics, and science related programs while the girl child ends up reading the general art related courses.
Professor Opoku-Amankwa further revealed that the situation needs urgent attention since it is a Ghanaian issue, adding that the only way to address it is to counsel the girls such that they will have their minds tuned to studying STEM-related programs.
He said the children will be trained in such a manner that right after junior high school, the girls will have the appetite to take up science and math-related programs in universities in order to actualize their God-given talents on earth.
He also used the opportunity to thank the donor partner, KOICA, for identifying the need and trying its best to resolve it.
The Director of the Education Service at the Education Ministry also thanked the teachers who have availed themselves of the training to transfer same knowledge to their students.
