In a push to enhance the educational landscape, the Deputy Education Minister responsible for TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) Education, Prof Kingsley Nyarko, has highlighted the need for a shift from theory-heavy learning to more practical, hands-on approaches.

Speaking on the first day of the STEMNOVATION Challenge grand finale in Accra, he emphasized the importance of fostering innovation and creativity in education, urging that students be challenged to devise solutions to real-life problems.

“We can’t always rely on external persons and their interventions to resolve our problems. There are indigenous approaches that we can use to solve problems and issues that confront us and the STEMNOVATION idea is to imbibe in learners innovative and creative ways of solving problems.”

“The years of acquiring knowledge that is theoretically based are giving way to practical, hands-on solutions to our problems and we are making progress,” he stated.

The STEMNOVATION competition, organized by the Ministry of Education, is one of several initiatives aimed at promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training).

The Deputy Education Minister noted that this approach would provide students with the practical skills necessary for addressing challenges in Ghana’s development.

Over twenty Senior High and Seniors Technical Schools across the country are competing for the final prize in the three-day grand finale competition.

The STEMNOVATION Challenge aims to encourage students to move beyond theoretical knowledge by developing and applying their skills in real-world contexts.