Mr Samson Lardy Anyenini, a private legal practitioner, has called on government to pay attention to science and technology by funding and motivating teachers in the Upper East Region.

He said a special focus on science and technology education would give the Region more than double the benefits of technology.

The lawyer, who also doubles as a Broadcast Journalist, was speaking at the Quadrennial Regional Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Bolgatanga.

The event was held on the theme: “Transforming Societies through Education: The Relevance of Science and Technology Education towards Agenda 2030 in the Upper East Region”.

Mr Anyenini said if science teachers were encouraged and motivated to dedicate themselves to teaching the subject, the region would be revolutionized through agriculture in about 20 years.

“It is a fact, truly anchored by statistics of how other nations have done it, what has been lacking is dedication to science and technology education. If Vea and Tono dams alone in the Region employ 6,000 small scale farmers, the question is where does their produce end?”

He said even though the Region had 37 Senior High Schools, none was dedicated to science and technology which according to him was the beginning of the Region’s failure in that regard.

Mr Afelibiek Ababu, the Upper East Regional Chairman of GNAT, said the theme for the event was carefully selected to reflect the needs of the Region since Science and Technology education was necessary for development in the area.

He said the conference was aimed at reviewing the activities carried out by its members in the past four years, elect Regional Executive Committee Members and to craft strategies that would catapult the Association to higher and better heights.

He reminded delegates of their duty to accurately relay the message to members at the grassroots who reposed confidence in them by electing them as their representatives at the conference.

Mr Ababu said though the Region had limited resources, GNAT had chalked some successes over the years including the completion of a hall complex, drilling, and mechanization of a borehole, effective collaboration with key stakeholders in the education enterprise, whipping up interest of members in the Association and increased GNAT’s membership among others.

He appealed to stakeholders in Education to support the Region to put up a befitting hostel to complement the new hall complex since it will help GNAT in the Region to live up to its expectations and be self-sufficient.

Madam Philippa Larsen, the Acting National President of GNAT, congratulated delegates of the conference, and urged that “going forward, we’ll try to think outside the box in order to craft new strategies, innovations, systems and processes that will help catapult this great Association onto the higher level that we all desire to see”.

Mr Rockson Bukari, the Upper East Regional Minister, said government was committed to promoting Science and Technology education through the provision of Science laboratories and equipment to produce the needed man power to pursue the industrialization agenda towards a more integrated and interdependent global economy.

“As we continue attracting massive inward foreign direct investment, because of our oil find, we need to get ready by getting the professionals in the field of science to take up that challenge to help change the face of Ghana,” he said.