So disappointing was the news. Indeed, it was much of a heart break coming on the heels of the sweet victory of the nation’s Satellites, currently the world’s number one under 21 Football champions. Well, the unfortunate news is a story published a few weeks ago on the website of one of our radio stations and which carried the headline, ‘Ghana places last in international Maths and Science quiz’. But how, I asked myself even before I read the content of the story. I was curious because Maths and Science are two subjects that I know much attention has been given to in the past decade by anyone who cared knowing their potential in the development of this country of ours. According to this FM station’s online website, a team of educational scientists from the University of Cape Coast and the University College of Education, Winneba, has concluded that Ghana’s performance is simply pathetic. The team was tasked to assess the performance and impact of the 48 nations in the international Maths and Science competition. In the recently held international quiz, Ghana was ranked 47th and last in the Mathematics competition and 48th and also last in Science. The first five countries in Maths were all from Asia. They are, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan respectively. In Science, Singapore came first followed closely by Chinese Taipei and Japan. The fourth position was taken by Korea with England placing fifth. Among our African peers, Ghana was still the weakest among the six African countries that participated in the quiz programme. Botswana placed 43rd and 46th in Maths and Science respectively. Egypt was in the 38th and 41st positions in Maths and Science respectively. Oh boy. But how come Ghana did so poorly when as a country, in the last decade and a half or so consistent and deliberate interventions have been made and continue to be made in Science and Maths all in the attempt to boost interest in our children. The private sector has done a lot to promote children’s interest in the subjects and so has the public sector. Where have all these laudable interventions gone? Does it mean that no impact has been made with all the interventions still running? I recount the progressive initiative of Primetime Ltd, a local advertising company, when it introduced the Brillant Maths and Science Quiz some fifteen years ago and which hooked my sons on to science as a subject. With all its changing faces through Brilliant Maths and Science to National Maths and Science quiz, it was a programme that both adults and children hate d to miss. Through the medium of television, the agency made Science and Mathematics interesting and curious for all, particularly, students, as they looked forward to which school was to be the next champion. That also sustained the learning interest. I also remember the interventions of the Ghana Education Service with the introduction of Science clinics for girls held during the long vacations to help promote girls’ interest in Science and by so doing get more girls to take to the Sciences as they get to senior secondary school. A number of corporate institutions and like minded institutions were encouraged by the initiative and gave it their support. Then also was the support corporate bodies gave to the Ghana Science Association annually to help promote their ideals with impact on the teaching of Science in our educational institutions. Obviously, from what we hear about our performance at the international Science and Maths competition, we simply are not there yet and much more needs to be done to help the teaching and learning of the subjects in our schools. What hurts so much with the disappointing performance is also the little impact made by the other initiatives of some private sector institutions to break down the myth surrounding the two subjects. Those initiatives, from the look of things, are meant to make Maths and Science everyday life situations and thus encourage more Ghanaian children to develop love for the subjects. Definitely, without the needed scientific interventions, our country’s development will not go far. We need the Scientists and the Mathematicians to help solve our numerous social, environmental, economic, health, educational and all the other developmental problems while at the same time, researching into the solutions for today and the future. Almost a decade ago, the Unilever Ghana Foundation for Education and Development for example instituted an annual nationwide Young Scientists Award for children below the age of sixteen to encourage innovation and scientific thinking, no matter how small, during the formative years of our children. It is indeed encouraging to see, year after year, the quality and depth of the scientific thinking and innovations the children who participate in the competition come out with. Definitely, there is something amiss as far as the teaching and learning of Science is concerned in this country. The Science academicians who were involved in assessing Ghana’s performance at the 48 nations Maths and Science competition have said it for us. According to their report, marks of over 80% of the Ghanaian students who participated in the quiz fell below an international benchmark set for the trends in international Mathematics and Science study. Is anybody listening? The shocking bit about the report presented to the Ghana Education Service is that our schools are not using the syllabi being followed internationally. Instead, we are using methodology which is over ten years, outmoded with outdated content to teach students in Maths and Science. What happened to the cliché that today we live in a global village? Our students in Maths and Science have proved that we live outside that village. Any wonder? So, with a whole Ministry of Education, a whole Education Service and a focused Directorate of Science Education, our school children are a whole decade behind what their peers elsewhere in the world are learning in the classroom? Good grief, our Ghana. When our first President had the vision to set up a public university solely to focus on Science and Technology, of course he had a long term vision for Ghana. He saw from afar, the necessary linkage in a nation’s development to science and technology. Fifty years on, we have looked on rather than looked in. The results are showing. We are choked to the neck with plastic waste. No solution is forthcoming from our Scientists. We still dump our liquid and solid waste anyhow. We are still experimenting. Malaria is still the number one killer. Infant mortality does not get any better with years, and pregnant women are still dying at child birth. We are looking elsewhere for assistance to put our house in order. We certainly cannot afford to toy around with Science and Maths education and bringing it up to speed. In my search for answers as to how worrisome the revelation that we are 10 years behind with our Science and Maths syllabi coupled with our embarrassing performance at the international competition, I spoke with an official of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). My take out was that WAEC is worried about the general student performance not only with Science and Maths but with English as well. The Council has constantly been feeding GES with information on how students have been performing at its examinations for appropriate actions to be taken. On top of that, the Council also gives to the schools, copies of their chief examiners’ reports so that stakeholders can use them as tools to correct and encourage excellence. As its contribution to raising the educational standards, WAEC introduced the annual excellence awards which each year rewards the best in the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations. This year for example, the person who was adjudged the best in Ghana is also the overall best in West Africa. Definitely, the Ghana Education Service has a mountainous task seeing to maintaining quality as well as getting the right syllabi, right equipment, right structures and the right personnel to bring our level of Science, Maths, as well as English education to acceptable global standards. We are told today to think global and act local so let us not be mediocre with the education of our children. The National Maths and Science quiz on television should be strengthened by GES and WAEC to encourage involvement by our schools and specifically hook the interest of children. The programme definitely is one sure way of demystifying Science and Maths and it grabs children’s love for the subjects. A Chinese proverb goes like this: Tell me and I will not remember, Show me and I may forget, Involve me so that I will never forget. Let us involve our students in problem solving, encourage them to develop the culture of probing and investigating. The chewing and pouring technique in our learning process has failed the Ghanaian student. Indeed, it is not practical any longer. We cannot afford to be last again come next time. Credit Vicky Wireko Source: Daily Graphic Reality Zone With Email: vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com