Mathematical Association of Ghana begins 39th confab
Members of the Mathematical Association of Ghana (MAG) have begun a four-day conference/workshop, at the Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) in Takoradi, with a call on participants to introduce creativity into their teaching methods to make the subject attractive to students.
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The Western Regional Minster, Mr Evans Paul Aidoo, who made the call, said some of the Mathematics teachers did not make the teaching and learning of the subject attractive.
The theme for the 39th national conference being attended by about 300 members of MAG, is ‘‘Stimulating the teaching and learning of mathematics in Ghana and its application in commerce and industry: A tool for national development.’’
Brainstorm
The meeting is to offer participants a platform to brainstorm and do a critical assessment of the achievements, failures and challenges of the association over the years, and map out strategies for the way forward.
Topics to be treated include, application of calculus to commerce and industry, application of statistics to trade and industry, application of ratio, proportion and statistics to commerce and industry, as well as royalties pertaining to the mineral industry.
Mr Aidoo, whose speech was read on his behalf by the Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Alfred Ekow Gyan, noted that the theme for the conference was appropriate and relevant, particularly at this time of national development, when much attention was on the application of science and technology to meet the challenges of the times.
Engineering and technical
The regional minister stressed that Mathematics formed the basis for most engineering and technical disciplines at the universities and other institutions of higher learning, and added that it held the key to any development breakthrough.
He declared, ‘‘Any scientific or technological advancement largely depends on a strong mathematical background. More importantly, a not-too-good a pass in the subject prevents a student from pursuing further studies, even in the humanities in the universities.’’
Advocacy
Mr Aidoo urged members of the association to have a stronger voice in advocacy for special concession for mathematics students and researchers, since time and again the nation acknowledged that its economic development would largely stem from science and technology.
‘‘It is, therefore, incumbent on us to consider a greater emphasis on mathematics and science education so that industries can easily make use of the products in the humanities and social sciences, who are churned out from the tertiary institutions,’’ he suggested.
WASSCE results
Professor Daniel A. Nyarko, the Rector of the Takoradi Polytechnic in an address read for him, observed that the performance of senior high school (SHS) candidates in Core Mathematics had been poorer than in Integrated Science, Social Studies and English Language, citing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results from 2011 to 2013 as an example.
Problems
The National President of MAG, Prof. Samuel Kwesi Asiedu-Addo, appealed to the government to solve the problems of inadequate facilities, infrastructure, together with poor incentives for teachers.
He said as teachers, ‘‘Our responsibility is to ensure that quality teaching and learning take place in our schools.
“I believe that where the teacher’s knowledge is more explicit, better connected and more integrated, they tend to teach the subject more dynamically, represent it in more varied ways, encourage and respond fully to student comments and questions.’’