Veep Bawumia breaks ground for construction of first-ever STEM College of Education

The Vice President and the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has cut the sod for the construction of the first-ever tertiary-level government-owned training institution.

The training institution will be solely for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) instructors in the country.

Upon completion, the Namburugu STEM College of Education, located at Karaga in the Northern Region, will train persons desirous of teaching STEM in Senior High and other schools across the country.

At the sod-cutting ceremony on Sunday, July 14, Dr Bawumia expressed the Government’s commitment to transforming the education sector to respond to the changing dynamics of the 21st century.

He said the construction of the tertiary STEM training school was further testament of the Government’s resolve to transform the country’s education system.

“This government continues to invest heavily in the education sector. This commitment is evident in many ways, including the provision of Free Senior High School, Free TVET education, building new, modern ICT-based schools, construction of specialized STEM High Schools, one of which is not too far from here, in Kpasinkpe, and recently, the supply of tablets to students in SHS.”

The Vice President noted that the construction of a tertiary institution to train instructors for schools was further evidence of its determination to prepare the children for the fourth industrial revolution.

Rev. Ntim Fordjour, the Deputy Minister of Education,

urged the contractors to deliver a quality project in the shortest possible time, noting that the College would have accommodation for both male and female students, an ultramodern 800-seater auditorium, an ICT Centre, living quarters for the Principal, Vice Principal, and other tutors.

“This historic institution will be a world-class training facility, providing skills and knowledge for those who would shape the minds of our children,” he stated.

Since 2017, Government had seen to the construction of a number of STEM schools (JHS and SHS) across the country, including the Awaso STEM School in the Western region, Abomosu STEM School in the Eastern region, Bosomtwe Girls STEM School and Bosomtwe STEM School, both in the Ashanti region, the Accra High School (Engineering only) in the Greater Accra region and the Kpasemkpe STEM School in the North East region.

Many of those institutions have since been integrated into the education mainstream, admitting their first batch of students.