Begoro, Feb. 2, GNA - A ten-member educational development delegation from Finland on Wednesday pledged to partner the Begoro Presbyterian Senior High School (SHS), to help improve the academic performance of students. The delegation, which visited the Fanteakwa Constituency on the invitation of the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Kwabena Asiamah-Amankwah, promised to provide the necessary support to improve students' performance in Mathematics and Natural Science among others. Addressing a student durbar in honour of the visitors at the school, th= e leader of the delegation, Dr Martti Kulvik of the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, said in November last year, the MP visited Finland and contacted his office to explore possible ways of improving academic performance of students in his constituency. He said he contacted Nokia Company in Finland which had developed a new technological system of learning Mathematics through the use of special mobile phones known as 93mobile solution". Dr Martti said Nokia Company accepted the proposal to sponsor the programme, which was introduced for the first time in South Africa in 2009. He said students from South Africa hitherto had problems of passing Mathematics in their examinations but since the introduction of the programme, teaching and learning of the subject had improved significantly and expressed the hope that it would also help Ghanaian students to stand o= n their feet in Mathematics. Dr Martti explained that the programme, which was dubbed 93the Ghana-Finland educational school project: innovative teaching and mobile solutions" had four cornerstones. These included real life exchange of knowledge and culture through the direct contacts between students, special focus on Mathematics and Natural Sciences as the key source for a solid future, novel application of mobile technology solutions in teaching and continuous learning experience for students. He gave the assurance that when the programme was successfully implemented and accepted, other senior high schools within the constituency would also benefit.

Dr Martti said from time to time students and teachers from the school would get the opportunity to visit some SHS in Finland as part of the programme.

Mr Asiamah-Amankwah on his part thanked the delegation for bringing the project to his constituency.

He noted that Mathematics as a subject had been a major problem confronting students at the basic and SHS level of the educational system. Mr Asiamah-Amankwah was optimistic that since the programme had significantly improved teaching and learning in South Africa, it would also help students in Ghana.

He described as worrying the number of students who failed in Mathematics during SHS examination and promised that he would provide all the necessary support for the project to succeed.

The Headmaster of the school, Mr E.O Charway, thanked the delegation fo= r choosing the school to pilot the project in Ghana.

He said the school would accept the project in good faith and would als= o provide all the necessary support in order to succeed. The delegation earlier paid a courtesy call on the District Chief Executive for Fanteakwa, Alhaji Fuseini Abass Sbaabe and the chief of the area Daasebre Awuah Kotoko. Other members of the delegation included Mrs Kaisa Tikka, headmistress of Olari comprehensive school in Finland, some Mathematics and Science teachers and students from both Junior and SHS