The Partnership Bureau, a member of the Ghana Science and Tech Explorer Prize (GSTEP) consortium has engaged public sector stakeholders ahead of 2025 GSTEP challenge.

The discussion seeks to probe STEM experts on the progress of the sector to guide in the organisation of the next GSTEP edition.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the Director of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education at the Ghana Education Service National STEM Resource Unit, Olivia-Serwaa Opare, highlighted the impact of the discussion on improving STEM education in the country.

“The programme has been so useful so far as the teaching and learning of STEM is concerned at the junior high school level. It is a good platform for bringing STEM educators together to share ideas on good practices, challenges, and how best we could have solutions to our challenges, and collectively we were able to come up with solutions.

"So, it’s left with the implementation, and I know from the collective ideas and submissions that we received from each group, there is a positive headway,” she said.

She lauded the DreamOval Foundation for holding such programme, adding that the initiative will push science and math teachers to be more dedicated, committed, and resourceful in ensuring practicality in the STEM field nationwide.

Also, the Director of Strategy and Innovation at the Ministry of Education, Aaron Kwaku Twum Akwaboah, shared the contribution of the ministry to the GSTEP initiative and goals prior to the 2024/25 edition of the competition.

“Being able to take it to the next level means that a lot of the projects our young people are doing have not been commissioned to go into the public space, and so we don’t want it to be like the young men and women made a drone for the fun of it. We’re looking at how we can turn these projects into something that can change Ghana as quickly as possible.”

Additionally, Mr Akwaboah expressed how important it is for the ministry to involve more coaches and instructors with STEM skills to support the various participants. This, according to him, will prevent the students from outpacing their teachers.

The ministry therefore aims at providing support in training more individuals on STEM and high-level pedagogy and innovation to ensure the sector is satisfied with sufficient tutors.

The founder of GSTEP Challenge, Constance Agyeman, indicated that it is vital for her firm to work hand-in-hand with STEM stakeholders to improve the sector since it is a uniform vision.

“For these stakeholders, it’s really important that we co-design a way forward. Often, we’re working in silos or alone, and we’re all striving towards the same thing: to bring more practical STEM education into students so they can serve Ghana better into the future,” she said.

She expressed gratitude to stakeholders in STEM education, noting that their insights will support the integration of GSTEP into schools’ curricula.

Meanwhile, junior high schools in the Greater Accra, Eastern, and Ashanti regions are encouraged to apply and participate in the 2024/2025 GSTEP Challenge.