Free SHSs aviation and aerospace courses start next academic year in 12 schools

The Minister of Education, Dr. Adutwum has disclosed that, 12 Free SHSs to offer aviation and aerospace courses next academic year. This forms part of the efforts toward the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in Ghana.

What this means is that first year students will be expected to enroll in this programmes.

The aviation and aerospace courses will start in the first term of the 2023/2024 academic year. The Education Minister made the announcement at the Afia Kobi Ampem Girls Senior High School. Students of the Afia Kobi Ampem Girls Senior High School hold the bragging rights as the first SHS in Ghana to have developed a miniature airplane as part of its engineering exploits.

My Minister encouraged the girls to work hard to venture into the field of engineering in future.

“Next year, there are about 12 schools that will be offering aviation and aerospace courses and in their case, it is not going to be a club but an academic programme,” he stated.

According to the minister, students who pursue the aviation and aerospace courses in SHS will also be required to study physics, chemistry and advanced mathematics. When the academic year starts, Afia Kobi Girls SHS will be among the 12 schools that will roll out the programme.

“This school is going to be transformed into a STEM school. They are doing some great things in the field of aviation and aerospace as pioneers at this level,” Dr Adutwum revelaed.

The Free SHSs aviation and aerospace courses are part of efforts to draw more students into STEM programmes at the secondary school level.

As part of future plans, the minister intends to convert Afia Kobi Girls SHS into a STEM school which will help train more girls in the sciences for accelerated national development from all spheres.

In the area of school infrastructure, Dr Adutwum revealed that the government was committed to expanding facilities in the school to enhance academic work.

He applauded the management of the school for being the first to introduce an initiative called “drop everything and read”, a time set aside for students to read.

“We are going to provide them a library so that they can do just that and I have no doubt in my mind that five years from now this school will be one of the best in the country,” he said.

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The minister said that the students were well-positioned to make a significant impact on Ghana’s future through STEM education. He cited the great work they were doing through the engineering club as evidence of their potential.

The minister also said that he and his team at the Ministry were committed to making the school more STEM-focused. He promised to provide a STEM lab so that the students could do more robotics and artificial intelligence projects.

The minister praised the teacher who led the engineering club, noting that some of the club members were not even science students. He told the students that they were on track to change the face of education in Ghana.