On Tuesday, the Ghana Education Service (GES) in Accra received a cheque for $1,048,200 from the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for Teaching and Learning Materials (TLM).
This is a portion of the eight million dollar Girls’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) by KOICA project support that is being carried out in ten districts located in Ghana’s Central and Eastern Regions.
The Girls’ STEM by KOICA project is a four-year gender-responsive pedagogy project that generally seeks to improve the competency of Junior High School (JHS) girls in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (STEM) education in the Central and Eastern Regions, across 10 districts, five districts in each region.
It also aims to improve academic performance and graduation rates for female junior high school (JHS) students, as well as the skills of maths and science teachers and gender sensitivity among teachers.
This ongoing project benefits 400 Junior High Schools in total, 200 from each participating zone.
According to Mr. Donghyun Lee, Country Director of KOICA, there is a significant discrepancy in the proportion of girls and boys who are interested in studying science and mathematics.
He claimed that funding young girls’ educations was an investment in closing the gaps by giving them the knowledge and abilities necessary for a better future.
According to Mr. Lee, the project will close gaps, spur creativity, and develop a generation of strong, independent women who will influence STEM in the future.
“The Girls STEM by KOICA project is a manifestation of our shared dedication to empowering youth, dismantling barriers, and promoting diversity in the educational process.
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“Today, we come together not only to review the progress made so far, but also to witness a pivotal moment as we hand over essential Teaching and Learning Materials that will further enhance the educational experience for our beneficiaries,” the Country Director stated.
Dr. Eric Nkansah, Director, GES, said there had been “so much drive”, investment and promotion of STEM education in the country.
He said STEM was important in the fourth industrial revolution in transforming any country, hence, the younger ones must be trained in the 21st century way.
Dr. Nkansah said KOICA had been collaborating with the GES in supporting girls in about 400 schools across the country.
“… And what they are doing with these girls is actually transformative. I am sure you have seen the demonstration that have been made here,” the Director stated.
The exhibition, he said, showed how the girls were putting the theories that they had learned in class into action, which revealed the potential of a Ghanaian child when supported.
“So far, the Midline reports that has just been presented to us indicates that there has been massive improvement in the study of Science.
“We are grateful to KOICA and the Korean government for this massive support. It is our prayer that we are able to do this and then even scale it across the country,” Dr. Nkansah said.
In order to carry out grant aid and technical initiatives, the Republic of Korea founded KOICA in 1991 as a state institution.
The Public Health, Agricultural, Rural Development, Education, and Governance sectors are the four main sectoral areas that the KOICA Ghana Office has been supporting and executing developmental initiatives in Ghana.
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