CAPE C: Metropolis gets science resource centre for schools

The Head of Science Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service, Mrs Georgina Quaisie, on Wednesday said plans to upgrade and expand Science Resource Centres (SRC) for schools nationwide have successfully taken off.

She said materials, equipment and chemicals for 86 schools out of the 200 satellite schools selected to have their laboratories upgraded have been received and that the distribution and installation would start next month.

Mrs Quaisie said this at the inauguration of a refurbished science resource centre for Basic schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis in cape coast.

The resource centre, which used to be called the primary technical centre, was refurbished and equipped by the Member of Parliament for Cape Coast North, Mr Ebo Barton Oduro in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service as part of his development projects for his constituency.

Mrs Quaisie said the upgrading of the school laboratories would be followed up in January 2013 by teachers and laboratory technicians training for the satellite schools. 

She said past and present governments  have been proactive in making sure  the younger one were well prepared   in bridging the digital divide and stressed that the Cape Coast Resource Centre for basic schools would set the pace  for other districts to establish similar  centres for basic  cluster schools and communities to further  improve science and technology literacy  and acculturation. 

Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, the Deputy Minister of Education, said the country would achieve accelerated development within the next few years if well-meaning   Ghanaians partner the government to establish more science resource centres.

She said science curriculum should encourage the use of local materials in the acquisition of scientific knowledge and that the government had developed policies most especially on science and technology education which would promote employment opportunities for the youth and facilitate knowledge-based innovation, development and sustainable growth.

Mrs Amoah-Tetteh said it was time Africa states invested in the technology market to reduce the out-migration of the human capital and assured that the government would do its best to develop infrastructure to aid effective teaching of science and technology in all schools in the country.

She reiterated calls on pupils and students to be more scientific and technologically alert to enable them to take up jobs to fill the vast vacancies in the area within the shortest possible time.

Mr Oduro  who is also the Deputy Minister of  Justice and Attorney General, commended the   former Vice Chancellor of the University  of Cape Coast(UCC) Professor Naana Jane Agyeman,  for initiating  the idea  for the establishment of the centre  which he described as a dream come true.

He said it had always been his dream to demystify science and that the only way to achieve it is to catch them young.   

The MP said efforts were being made to extend similar facilities to senior High schools that do not have science laboratories.

Nana Kwamina  Nyinfa  Adontehen  of Oguaa Traditional Area who presided  commended the MP for his efforts and called on  him to  get a bus  for the centre so that it would carry pupils  to and from the centre.

Present at the ceremony were the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Anthony Egyir  Arkins, Omanhene of Oguaa Traditional  Area Osabarima Kwesi Atta  II, Mr Ricketts Kweku Hagan,  NDC parliamentary  candidate for Cape Coast  South constituency and Ms Vivian Etroo, Metropolitan Director of Education.

GNA