Achieving excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education requires adequate infrastructure and learning materials. Without these, students struggle to develop the necessary skills to compete in an increasingly technology-driven world.
For pupils of the New Atuabo Community Basic School, the installation of a state of the art Smart Lab and Innovation Center has sparked renewed interest in STEM education, providing them with the tools they need to thrive in the digital age.
Like many public basic schools, the New Atuabo Community Basic School has had to contend with infrastructural challenges limiting students’ access to quality STEM education. This gap has placed them at a disadvantage compared to their peers in better equipped schools, ultimately reducing their chances of pursuing careers in the competitive fields of technology, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation.
To help bridge this gap, the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation has provided the school with an ultramodern Smart Lab and Innovation Center in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality.
At the facility’s handing-over ceremony, Ellen Anti, Deputy Regional Director of Education, acknowledged the critical need for technological educational resources and their direct impact on students’ academic performance.
“Inception of the education act of 2008 act 778, and the recent introduction and implementation of standard days and common core curriculum for primary and junior high schools, respectively, emphasize the importance of ICT and computing in our education system and the pivotal role it plays around the world, it is expected that pupils will develop some core competencies such as digital Literacy, critical thinking, innovation, collaboration and the like.”
She noted “however, teaching the subjects has become a herculean task for most facilitators since most basic school lack basic ICT equipment such as desktop computers, laptops, projectors and screens just mentioned a few learners are taught in the abstract manner which eventually impacts their performance negatively during the basic education certificate examination , during the Basic certificate education, it is on this call that I give good first Ghana foundation a resounding applause for such et a magnificent edifice to promote effective teaching of it and computing in the New Atuabo Basic school.”
Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Elliot Twum, emphasized that this initiative is a strategic move to integrate technology and digital tools into the basic education system. He highlighted that the project supports the Ghana Education Service’s Computational Thinking curriculum, “in 2022 the Ghana Education Service introduced computational thinking as part of the curriculum for basic school education. Unfortunately, a lot of the public basic schools in the country do not have a facility to support the teaching and learning of the subject. Teachers in some basic schools, especially schools located in smaller communities depend solely on textbooks to teach this subject with no practical aspects, this takes a lot away from the teaching and learning experience.”
“With a growing interest in artificial intelligence and robotics, the foundation set up a smart lab and Innovation Center as a pilot project advancing the integration of technology and digital tools into the teaching and learning experience.
This it’s referred to as education 4.0 , and it promotes learners independence, as well as provides personalized learning. The Foundation invested over $68000 on this project, which is intended to serve students from primary 5 to JHS 3 in the New Atuabo Community Basic school as well as other public and private schools in the community” he added .
With this new facility, students of the New Atuabo Community Basic School now have a brighter future in STEM education, ensuring they are well-prepared for the fast evolving global world that is presently rotating mainly around artificial intelligence.
