Wa, Sept. 04, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor has called on corporate bodies especially major beneficiaries of science and technology education to support its promotion in the country. He said they could institute bursaries, scholarships and financial assistance for science education and research while government provided the teachers with the necessary incentive packages to motivate them to put in their maximum efforts for the success of the new education reforms.

President Kufuor made the call in a speech read on his behalf by Mr George Hikah Benson, Upper West Regional Minister, at the 49th National Conference of Ghana Association of Science Teachers (GAST) in Wa on Tuesday.

The Conference is on the theme: "Ghana @ 50. The New Educational Reforms The Role of the Science and Technology Teacher".

It is being attended by members throughout the country to review their performance and strategise for better results in future. President Kufuor said there was the need to address problems associated with the implementation of the education reforms that would undermine learning of science to pave way for innovation or creativity in science education to reward teachers and students who exhibited exemplary talents.

He said science and technology issues could not be glossed over, as they were indispensable in the quest to strategically position the country in a globalised and competitive world.

"Science knowledge is critical in our endeavours in medicine, agriculture, transport, communication, arms and industry as well as environmental protection and the control of HIV/AIDS," he pointed out. He said the current science and technology policy intended to create the enabling environment and advocacy for the promotion of science and technology as key factors in the development process of the country.

President Kufuor said government was committed to support science and technology education in the universities and research centres, the polytechnics and institutions of higher learning as well as first and second cycle schools as envisioned in the reforms.

Mr Herbert Kwesi Krufi Graham, President of GAST urged government to restore the scholarship programme for science teachers that was introduced sometime ago to upgrade their professional skills and impart knowledge effectively and efficiently to students.

He stressed the need for government to provide laptop computers to science teachers to help improve their teaching and equip science laboratories in the schools to enhance quality teaching and learning. Mr Graham called for the involvement of GAST in the formulation and implementation of science and technology policies and programmes for education to help teachers to accept the challenges.

He said government should endeavour to pay allowance to science teachers at the basic school level to encourage them to handle the subjects effectively and support the children to develop interest for science at their tender age.

Mr Graham expressed concern about the manner in which some students in second cycle institutions were abandoning science programmes and shifting to business programmes and called on science teachers to take a second look at the way they handle the subjects to address the situation.