The government is placing emphasis on the learning and study of English Language, Mathematics and Science, as part of a programme to reform the teaching and learning of these disciplines at the basic level.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Samuel Okudjeto-Ablakwa, who disclosed this in Accra on November 24, said the 2015 budget had made allocation to resource national and regional centres, equip teacher education institutions and provide equipment in basic science and mathematics.
“The 2015 Budget has made provision for the training of teachers and in these subjects. Six million textbooks will also be procured and distributed at the basic level to improve teaching and learning of the three areas,” Mr Okudjeto-Ablakwa said.
He said this at the presentation of prizes to winners of the UBA National Essay Competition, which awarded educational grants, totaling GH¢37,170 to three topmost winners, out of 12 finalists. Each finalist received a certificate and a laptop.
Ms Paulina Mensah Boadiwaa from Wesley Girls S.H.S, emerged the overall winner in the maiden competition and received GH¢17,700 grant to cover her tertiary education. Ms Makafui Esther Ama Tse of Mawuli Senior High and Ms Dorcas Darko Nuku of Keta Senior High School received grants of GH¢12,390 and GH¢7,080 for placing second and third respectively.
The prizes are currently title deeds which would be held in trust by the bank, until the children went on to tertiary institution, after which it would be released in tranches. Interestingly, students from many second grade schools, such as those from Wenchi, Tamale, Ho, Kasoa, Cape Coast, Accra and Takoradi, made it among the 12 finalists.
Mr Okudjeto-Ablakwa said the government was bent on promoting those subjects because they were crucial for students’ progress to the next level of the academic ladder.
According to the 2015 budget, “the Ministry will also train teachers, build capacity of master coaches as well as teacher educators. In all, teachers and pupils in 35,000 schools will benefit from the programme which is expected to be implemented in phases.”
The budget stipulates that the reforms in the teaching and learning of mathematics and science at the basic level would help reverse the current trend of enrolment of 62:38 ratio of Humanities to Science and technical related students at the tertiary institutions, with the ultimate aim of creating jobs to drive economic growth.
An amount of GH¢6.74 billion has been allocated to the Ministry of Education in the 2015 Budget. This represents a scaling up over the GH¢5.82 billion allocated in 2014.
The UBA National Essay Competition launched on September 24 and received over 650 entries. It is the first such competition in Ghana by the universal bank’s corporate social responsibility arm, UBA Foundation. The event is in its fourth year in Nigeria.
UBA’s Regional Director for Accra and Tema, Mrs Nelly Abotsi, said it believed in education as the surest way of securing the future of the country, hence the bank’s unflinching support for education.
The Chief Executive Officer of the UBA Foundation, Ms Ijeoma Aso, said it considered education as a a good medium to better the lives of young people in society.
She said the prize included internship with the bank after tertiary education, stressing that the winners should also sustain their performance and particularly be of good moral behaviours and deeds to continue to enjoy the grants, which would be released in tranches.
She urged students to take reading seriously and always aspire to excel, adding that those who did not make it to the top three could always re-enter again when the competition is re-opened.
At the first round, students from Senior High Schools were asked to write an essay on whether social media was a safe place to make friends, while the second round had the topic: “How reading has impacted my knowledge.”