Education Ministry to support STEM inventions through $60m World Bank fund – Adutwum

The Ministry of Education has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-centered inventions through a $60 million skill development fund provided by the World Bank.

Speaking during a news conference in Accra, the sector minister, Yaw Osei Adutwum, urged individuals to leverage the available government resources to commercialize their inventions.

“The Ministry of Education has funds to support innovations through the skills development fund. Over $60 million has been given to us from the World Bank and what we are doing is that we accept proposals from individuals who are commercialising inventions, especially those things that are invented by our students, and they will be able to get a grant to commercialise it.”

“I am using this opportunity for people to check with the Commission for TVET at the Ministry of Education; the Skills Development Fund is under them, and that is the place where inventions can be commercialized. And I hope through that amount of money allocated to us, the challenge that you have brought about will be a thing of the past. We will begin to see Ghanaian innovators being supported to commercialize inventions and ideas brought about by our students,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Adutwum, the Minister of Education, has praised the Akufo-Addo-led administration for its notable achievements in advancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education nationwide.

During an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show, the minister highlighted significant increases in both the number of STEM schools and the capacities of existing schools under President Akufo-Addo’s leadership.

Dr. Adutwum acknowledged the transformative efforts of previous administrations, noting that President Kufuor’s tenure saw the transformation of existing schools like Kumasi Anglican and Odorgonno.

The subsequent administrations of Presidents Mills and Mahama focused on building new schools, particularly with the introduction of E-Blocks.

Responding to queries about the current government’s approach, Dr. Adutwum clarified, “President Akufo-Addo has decided to do both.”

“So if you look at a school like Kumasi Secondary Technical School, you are going to see that there is a huge infrastructure intervention there. You go to Prempeh College and other schools, and then science labs have been built in some schools across the country.”

“Okuapeman Senior High School has a beautiful science lab. Wesley Girls, we did six science labs at a go, Kumasi Anglican six science labs at a go, St. Louis, six science labs at a go, Ahantaman Girls…So we have science labs that have been built across the country in existing schools.

“So the intervention is not just in the new schools; existing schools are seeing massive intervention in the area of STEM.”

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