A total of 400 Junior High Schools (JHSs) have participated in the 2022 Girls’ Camp Meeting held concurrently in the Eastern and Central regions.
Over 200 JHS girls from each region became beneficiaries of the four-day camp meeting.
The Meeting started on Monday, December 19, and ended on Thursday, December 2022, with the girls selected from across 10 districts in the two regions.
At the official closing ceremony held at the Ofori Panin Senior High School in the Abuakwa North Municipality of the Eastern Region, Camp Prefect Joyce Ampofo, who is a student of M/A Saviour ‘B’ JHS, said about 225 girls from 39 schools across six circuits participated in her Meeting.
She said scientists, medical practitioners, agronomists and engineers took turns to address them in a mentorship and coaching session during which the girls were given the opportunity to ask various questions about STEM-related professions.
They were also taken on educational tours to the Engineering Department of the All Nations University and the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG).
Director of Education in Abuakwa North Municipality Abena Gyamera highlighted the impact of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, particularly in her municipality as they won six Gold, four Silver and two Bronze medals at the last Ghana STEM Olympiad.
She said the Municipality also placed 3rd out of 33 districts in the Eastern region in the Eastern Regional Science and Maths competition.
Special Guest Gifty Twum Ampofo, a Deputy Minister of Education and the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, commended the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for implementing the four-year gender-responsive pedagogy.
She said as a proud product of what used to be Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (STME) education concept of the GES and with 20 years experience as a Science Teacher with the GES during which she served as the only female secretary of the Ghana Association of Science Teachers (GAST) in the Eastern Region, the participating girls must see her as their role model and use her achievement as a springboard to aspire to achieve more than she has been able to achieve for herself, family, constituency and nation.
The Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) reminded the girls in camp that God created girls uniquely and endowed them with a lot more talents, abilities, and virtues than their male counterparts.
“Apart from physical strength and the ability to take great risks that boys seem to have an upper hand over girls, girls and for that matter women are actually better endowed in the remaining aspects of human endeavour,” she pointed out.
As a result, she admonished them not to underestimate their potential and never allow anybody to talk them out of their dreams and aspirations of pursuing STEM related careers and professions.
She urged the girls to stay in school, love STEM, remain focused and they will never regret pursuing STEM career pathways.
The function was chaired by Nana Apeadu Danso II of Pomase Ahenfie in Abomosu who doubles as the Chief Inspector of Schools at the Abuakwa North Municipal Education Directorate.
Source: 3News.com|Ghana
