Science-promoting civil society organisations have called for deliberate initiatives to encourage basic and high school students to venture into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers.

Alliance for Science Ghana and Kenya-based Fun and Education Global Network (FEGNe) say children will not pursue STEM programs at the tertiary level unless conscious efforts are made to introduce them to such courses at a young age.

Country lead of Alliance for Science Ghana Joseph Opoku Gakpo made the call when he led officials of both organisations, including FEGNe president Kenneth Monjero, to pay a courtesy call on officials of the University of Ghana.

They met the Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences Prof. Elsie Effah Kauffman and the founding director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) Prof. Eric Danquah at the University of Ghana.

“When I was a child, all I knew was that agricultural sciences equate to hoe and cutlass farming. Someone had to open my mind to the fact that other careers like plant breeding and genetics exist in agriculture.

"And that inspired me to pursue a BSc in Agricultural Biotechnology at KNUST. We must all be interested in doing such favours for today’s basic and high school children,” Gakpo stated.

“Children will not pursue courses they don’t know about. They will not venture into careers they have never heard of.

"Those of us in STEM today have a God-given assignment to show children the way so they have STEM options to choose from when deciding their career paths,” he added.

Mr. Monjero was in Ghana to hold science shows at various senior high schools to get young minds excited about STEM.

Among others, he visited the Ghanata Senior High School at Dodowa and the Accra Girls Senior High School.

He conducted a number of fun science experiments including how clouds are formed for the students to see.

During the courtesy call on the University of Ghana officials, Mr Monjero said he was confident these shows will “inspire young minds to explore STEM while fostering a deep understanding of climate change and its global implications.”

Prof. Danquah agreed there is a need to introduce children to STEM at a young age if they can be inspired to pursue STEM careers.

Prof. Kaufmann assured of her commitment to supporting STEM promotion efforts, disclosing the College of Engineering Sciences has an outreach team that does such work.

After operating for years in East Africa, Mr. Monjero announced the setting up of the Ghana chapter of FEGNe which will be led by science enthusiasts Dennis Baffour-Awuah and Makafui Gbate.