The outgoing president of Ghana Association of Science Teachers (GAST), Mr Simon Aklomasa Addei-Conutsey, has charged science teachers in the country to intensify their efforts in science and technology education to help mitigate climate change and food security challenges in Ghana.
Speaking on the conference theme; Science and Technology Education: A solution to Climate Change and Food Security, the outgoing GAST president said the theme was important because opinions are divided even among scientists in the ongoing debate on genetically modified food and the growing concern of climate change impact on people.
Mr Addei-Conutsey told members of GAST at its 58th week long Annual General Meeting and Conference at the Tamale College of Education that, they need to demystify the subject they teach at the various schools to make it relevant to their students to enable them surmount the challenges.
He also encouraged science teachers to attend workshops to sharpen their teaching skills to enable them handle challenging topics in the syllabi as well as to provide opinion on the best practices on the teaching of science in the school curriculum.
The GAST outgoing president underscored the importance of the role of such diverse organizations like the JICA, Science and Environment ministry, education ministry, MMDAs, some parliamentarians and other stakeholders in enhancing science education.
He however repeated GAST’S non motivation of science teachers as a major challenge facing the association. and urged government to restore the motivational packages which members used to benefit in the past.
On students’ performance of science in this year’s West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination in Ghana, Mr Simon Aklomasa said even though he is not happy about the performance in science, there was marginal improvement compared to last year.
On why students failed science subjects, the outgoing GAST president explained that, the way and manner students deliver their answers makes even good students perform poorly in science examinations
According to him, once the students don’t spell science words right, he will automatically fail the subject because the examination will not even make any concession.
