Govt reiterates commitment to promoting sustainable national progress through education

Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, has reiterated the government’s commitment to promoting holistic and sustainable national development through education, research, and outreach.

Consequently, she said, the government had implemented many reforms in the past few years to achieve that goal.

Madam Owusu-Banahene made the statement when speaking at a grand durbar to climax the 10th-anniversary celebration of the establishment of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) at the university’s campus in Sunyani.

It was on the theme: ”A decade of Academic Excellence in Energy and Natural Resources Education: Commemorating the Past, Celebrating the Present and Shaping the Future for National Development.”

The UENR is a public-funded university in Ghana established by an Act of Parliament, Act 830, 2011 on December 31, 2011.

It commenced operation academically with the admission of 154 pioneer students for the 2012/2013 academic year to pursue courses in Renewable Natural Resources and Renewable Energy Engineering.

It presently operates seven faculties and schools, including Faculties of Sciences, Engineering, Natural Resources, School Arts and Social Sciences, School of Agriculture and Technology, and School of Geosciences with more than 10,000 student population.

Madam Owusu-Banahene said Ghana had taken an important step in its commitment to sustainable development through the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, saying that the country was well-positioned to promote the sustainability of natural resources and provide access to quality education and training for all citizens.

She added the Government had recognised the potential impact of STEM education by building ten cutting-edge learning centres as well as restructuring many Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country with the provision of the necessary tools and equipment for teaching and learning.

”Several of these STEM SHSs, including those in Abomoso, Eastern Region, Bosomtwe in the Ashanti Region, and Awaso in the Western North Region have begun teaching and learning,” Madam Owusu-Banahene stated.

The Regional Minister announced the Government had again launched the Ghana Skills and Technology Development Programme with the aim to enhance technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

She said in a pragmatic sense, that project was designed to give young people the abilities and information required for excellent delivery on their jobs to support the sustainable growth of the country.

She said the Government had formulated and implementing the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy to encourage scientific and technological research and development to promote creativity and the creation of cutting-edge technology that could be used to address sustainability-related issues.

Professor Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, the Chair of the UENR Governing Council, said sustainable exploitation of natural resources was at the heart of the national development agenda, saying essential use of the resources had a multiplier effect on economic growth and national development.

He stated the past 10 years had been challenging, due to inadequate teaching and learning facilities, indicating infrastructure deficit of the university needed to be addressed immediately to enable the institution to admit more students into specialised areas.

Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah appealed to the government to support the construction of inner roads on the campuses of the University to facilitate human and vehicular movement to enhance efficient management and effective teaching and learning.