The Environmental Protection Agency has advocated the development of practical teaching modules in basic schools to enhance efforts at mitigating climate change in Ghana. 

The Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, in the Volta Region, Derrick Logo, believes this would help instill into the younger generation, the skillset to design and develop adaptive modules to conserve the environment and curb global warming. 

He was speaking at the 2022 Science Technology Mathematics Innovation Education camp held at the Awudome Senior High School in Tsito in the Ho West District.

Climate change is the shift in temperatures and weather patterns primarily caused by human activities due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.  

In view of this, the 2022 Volta Regional Education Directorate focused its annual STMIE camp on climate change. 

The 4-day camp was themed, “STMIE, Panacea for global warming and climate change.”

The Volta Regional Coordinator, Rosemary Ahiagbetey, said the camp focused on enlightening the students on the causes and effects of global warming and guide them to develop practical solutions to the climate related problems through the use of science and technology.

She said the camp was primarily to help the pupils to “demystify the assertion that science is difficult”, provide learning in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, agriculture and information, communication and technology.

She added that the participants were tutored on how to use scientific methods to solve complex problems facing the world, including climate change and were motivated to “pursue science related courses at the higher level of their education and to help participants to learn and improve skills in critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and innovation.”

The Volta Regional Education Director, Gabriel Kploanyi, charged the participants to become agents of change in their localities and champion the cause of mitigating climate change.

The Volta Regional Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Derrick Logo, expressed optimism that adopting practical teaching, especially science related courses would play a vital role in mitigating climate change. 

He said some farming methods, including use of pesticides, livestock breeding, and uncontrolled filth also account for climate change, hence called for innovative ways of farming and the need to segregate waste in the society, while practicing recycling.

“Let us all remember that the climate is changing, it has changed and it will continue to change, hence, teaching of courses have to be more practical, not the theoretical ones we have been engaging ourselves in and if we can do that, Mother Ghana will be happy and the menace of climate change will be reduced”, he explained.

About 380 basic school pupils from 15 districts tin the Volta Region participated in the camp.