An educationist at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Nii Armah Addy, has cautioned the government against politicising the Basic Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (BSTEM) initiative at the detriment of the country’s educational development.
The initiative, which was launched on November 2, 2024, by the government through the Ministry of Education, will be incorporated into the basic education curriculum.
Phase I of the project is set to supply STEM equipment to 4,400 Junior High Schools (JHS) and train over 8,800 JHS science and mathematics teachers.
Additionally, 4,400 primary schools will receive STEM equipment, and 30 specialist primary advisors will train a primary teacher from each school in new STEM classroom activities
Speaking to Citi News, Addy urged the government to enhance efforts to ensure the newly launched Basic Education STEM initiative benefits all children of the school-going age.
He, however, lauded the initiative saying that it would enhance the country’s technological expertise in the future.
“If you put it in certain locations what I have come to call Politics of education, because it’s an election year because it will ensure to your electoral advantage then it does not work in the larger scheme of educational development and the human resource development of the country,” he stated.
“We need more of these skills to push our infrastructure development forward, but that notwithstanding, the question is whether we are doing it properly. If you say you’re training 4000 children at the basic level, how are you identifying those considering the number of children who enrol in the basic schools? It should be an across the board in all the schools so that every one of them has an equal opportunity of trying their hands on it,” he noted.
