Major Courage Quashigah (Retd), former Minister of Health, has challenged the youth to study the arts and sciences of nature and adopt them for the advancement of society. He said most inventions came out of the careful study of the characteristics and instincts of some creatures, and as such, its careful study could help meet human needs. The former Minister said this at the opening ceremony of an exchange programme for senior high school students in Accra on Friday. The programme dubbed: “The Ghana National Exchange Programme School (GNEPS) 2009” is to empower students to build stronger networks among themselves to help bridge educational gaps in second cycle schools. Major Quashigah urged the students to use the internet to acquire knowledge and skills that would help them in their studies and national development. Mr. Cecil Nii Obodai Wentum, Executive Director of GNEPS, said 15 schools would participate in the programme, which would provide a new environment for the students to share their knowledge and experience. He said the programme, which was in partnership with the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Education, and National Youth Council and other stakeholders would promote a holistic approach towards academic advancement. Mr. Wentum said the programme would include conference lectures, inter-school sporting activities and other community services to inculcate the spirit of volunteerism in the youth. He urged the beneficiary students to take advantage of the programme in order to learn from each other. Over 400 senior high school students would participate in this year’s exchange programme which is the second in the series aimed at creating a common educational platform to promote quality education. The participating schools are Accra Academy, Sekondi College, Zion College, Bishop Hermann College, OLA Girls, Mawuko Girls, Krobo Girls, Opoku Ware School, and Mfantsipim School. The rest are Nkawie SHS, Keta SHS, Apam SHS, Aggrey Memorial School, Pope John’s SHS and Ghana Secondary Technical School. Source: GNA