Prof. Jerome Djangmah — Brain behind STME Clinic for Girls
He has a passion for education and would do whatever it takes for children not only to go to school but have quality education.
Advertisement
He believes that education is the key to resolving the world’s major challenges.
As a child, he nearly lost out on continuing his education because the school he attended at Adeiso near Nsawam was closed down by the colonial government. Fortunately, his father brought him over to Accra to continue his education. It was as if his father knew that his son was not only going to become a professor but would be an instrument for motivating many girls in school to study science and technology.
Early schooling
School for Young Djangmah, who had lost his mother at age 10, was a matter of course because his elder siblings had already completed Standard Seven, then known as Middle School. Two others had been to secondary school.
He was enrolled at the Methodist Primary School at New Ningo, then a fishing community near Prampram, in the Greater Accra Region - a school which had only two classrooms.
Classes One, Two and Three studied in one classroom while Standard One, Two and Three, used the other classroom. Interestingly, the population of the entire school then was 30 pupils with two teachers.
"So we were there for six years and the untrained teachers taught us all they knew” he quipped.
Young Djangmah, the only child of his mother, lived with his grandmother, other siblings and cousins. Fortunately for him, his father was quite wealthy. He had a cattle ranch, fleet of vehicles, cocoa farm and a number of shops.
Although his father had little education, he valued education.
Closure of school in 1950
The 1950s was the period of the new dawn and many people in the Gold Coast hungered after formal education for their children. But the colonial government said there were not enough qualified teachers to expand the educational infrastructure.
The people of Adeiso, however, defied the colonial government and started their own Methodist Senior School. The colonial government, he said, closed down most of those schools established by the indigenous people under the pretext that their standard was low. "So our school was closed down. That could have been the end of my education because majority of my classmates could not go outside the town to attend other schools".
Fortunately, Young Djangmah's father took him to another school known as the Ghana College which was named after the Ghana National College in Cape Coast to continue his education. He was eventually taken to Accra to attend the St. Andrews College at Korle-Gonno.
Accra life
The professor said that: "At the college I fell into a group of ambitious students who yearned to move to better schools. So we began writing letters to all the secondary schools we could hear of seeking admission. Although I wrote to the Mfantsipim School and the St. Augustine's College, I did not hear from them. It was, however, the headmaster of the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (PRESEC) at Odumase-Krobo who replied to us stating that he would admit us if we performed well," he stated.
That encouraged us greatly and in the end, Young Djangmah was admitted to Form Three in PRESEC where he passed his GCE Ordinary Level examination and then gained admission to the St. Augustine's College in Cape Coast for his Advanced Level course.
University education
Having completed the Sixth Form, he proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon, where he studied Zoology, Botany and Geology. Prof. Djangmah explained that he wanted to study medicine but he did not succeed because only 15 out of the 50 students that applied were admitted.
He studied for four years at Legon and majored in Zoology. After graduating in Zoology, he taught at the Achimota School for one year. During that time, he said, former President J.J. Rawlings and Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings were then in Form Two while Ms Joyce Aryee was in Form Five and the late president, Prof John Evans Atta Mills, was in Upper Six.
"I went to the Achimota School and went straight to the headmaster's office and told him I wanted to teach. He asked, ‘what can you teach?’ I told him I wanted to teach Ga, Science or Mathematics, and he agreed to employ me. The Headmaster was the distinguished former Ghana Ambassador to the United Nations Daniel Chapman-Nyaho. He was the classmate to President Kwame Nkrumah at Achimota”.
University of Cape Coast
From Achimota School, he taught at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) as an assistant lecturer. He later won a scholarship to undertake a doctoral degree at the University of Wales.
In 1964, he accepted a grant from the American National Science Foundation in Washington DC to be part of a group to be trained to teach with new science books.
Back in Accra
After two decades at the UCC, he was appointed the Director -General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) from 1986 to 1988. His exit from the GES opened a another career for him at the University of Ghana where he became an Associate Professor once more, later the head of Department of Zoology before he finally retired in 1997.
Advertisement
STME Clinic
One project the professor remembers with great interest was the Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) Clinic for Girls which he introduced while he was the Director-General of the GES, to motivate and expose girls to Science and Mathematics. The programme brought together selected bright girls who had demonstrated interest in science and mathematics from secondary schools across the country to interact with men and women scientists and mathematicians in one location.
Prof. Djangmah believes mentoring is a key aspect of education delivery.
The first STME programme selected a number of women scientists and technologists as the role models for the girls. Prominent among them were Dr Aba Andam who later became a Professor of Physics at KNUST, and the late Prof. Ewurama Addy, a biochemist.
Retirement
While on retirement, the professor had worked at the Institute of Economic Affairs as a resident scholar on educational policy. He became a Presiding Member of the Dangme West District Assembly of his home area. During his active years, he was a Chief Examiner in Biology for many years at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). It is not surprising that he was later elected in 2006 after he was nominated by the Ghana government to become the Chairman of WAEC for three years.
Advertisement
He was made the Inaugural Chairman of the Council of the University of Education, Winneba from 1998 to 2004. He is currently assisting the University of Ghana to set up a College of Education.
Prof. Djangmah is married with four children; three boys and a girl. He has eight grandchildren.