Low interest in agriculture alarming - Teachers say

Oyoko (E/R), Aug, 14, GNA-Mr Isaac Asiegbor, National President of the Association of Agricultural Science Teachers' Association (ASTAG), has expressed worry about low interest towards agricultural education by education authorities.

He said the situation had affected teaching and learning of the subject at the various educational institutions. Mr Asiegbor therefore suggested the formulation of clear

Agricultural and Environmental Education and Training policies to address the human capital requirement of the national economic development.

The ASTAG president said this at the opening of the 20th Annual General Meeting of the Association at Oyoko near Koforidua on Thursday. He said a clear agricultural and environmental education policy would help to address human resource needs for the implementation of the national economic development plan of the country's vision 2015.

Mr Asiegbor said integration of agriculture into Integrated Science at the Senior High School as a core subject was not in the right direction since the subject was not being properly taught or learnt because there were no special teachers for it.

He said what made the situation more serious was the fact that public universities insisted that only general agriculture fits their requirements in addition to passes in Elective Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Biology, which limits avenues for academic progression. Mr Asiegbor said Fisheries and Forestry courses, which had been developed and implemented since 1996, had minimal participation from schools.

Mr Kwadwo Afram Asiedu, Eastern Regional Minister, said in an address read for him that the future development of the country, particularly "our quest to become a middle income country by the year 2015 largely depends on the type of education given to the young ones who find themselves in schools today".

He said the government would make every effort to ensure that much attention was given to agriculture.