Dr Kwame Baah-Nuako, Executive Director of the GNPC Foundation says investing in Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) training and encouraging their students at the basic school level was typical of the company’s strategy to ensure improved performance in STEM.

“As technical and technically driven as GNPC’s operations, the corporation is committed to supporting the development of human capacity among Ghanaians to ensure greater participation from citizens and locals in Ghana’s oil and gas exploration activities”, he said

The Executive Director of GNPC Foundation was speaking at the official launch of the Foundation’s STEM quiz competition programme introduced to increase the interest in the study and pursuit of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at the basic level for National Development.

In all, 132 schools would participate in the maiden competition from the 22 districts in the region resulting in six zonal competition and ultimately one Regional champion.

Dr Baah-Nuako explained that the programme may also serve as a platform for the assessment of the growth in the knowledge and abilities as well as skills of pupils in STEM and identify and nurture talent for manpower and skill development.

"The future of the industry is artificial intelligence, and we need to prepare the children of this Region and the country as a whole”, he added

Dr Baah-Nuako said, the Foundation recognised government’s efforts to strengthen and upscale the study of the STEM, “indeed technology defines the extractive sector and continue to shape the industry making it imperative, now more than ever to introduce standard training for Ghanaians”.

According to him , the GNPC Foundation took a more holistic approach to shoring up skills development, which had informed the rolling out of several interventions to ensure Ghana to catch up with the human resource deficit in the sector.

The executive Director said the GNPC among other things was establishing a professorial chair within four public universities to support research and human capacity development in Ghana’s mining, oil and gas sector.

“It is our firm expectation that this competition would be the starting point of a new paradigm that would nurture and develop a new generation of Ghanaians with the needed skills to play a significant role in developing Ghana’s extractive industry.”

Mrs Eugenia Gifty Kusi, the Deputy Western Regional Minister said the government was keen at supporting STEM and lauded the efforts of the GNPC adding, “I call on all schools to give the project the needed cooperation and support to record the much awaited gains in the area”.

Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the GNPC Foundation was not enthused about the falling levels of education in the region adding, “It is therefore timely to raise education and record more grade “A” schools in the Region.

Mr Addo Dankwa Akuffo, the Western Regional Director of Education pointed out that investing more in STEM education was to help develop the cognitive abilities of children, make them critical thinkers and enable them to contribute more meaningfully to their respective economies.