Weaknesses in science education at some Senior High Schools in the Upper East Region could leave local students unable to meet increasingly stringent admission requirements for science and health programmes at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS), a Dean at the university has warned.
Dr Margaret Wekem Kukeba, Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, said shortages of science teachers, inadequate laboratory facilities and limited practical lessons are leaving some students insufficiently prepared for university-level science programmes.
The situation, she said, has become more concerning as UTAS tightens admission requirements for some programmes in response to regulatory requirements.
“We’ve recently been told that we cannot just admit based on the normative criteria, which is C6 and below. We’ve had to cut down our criteria to a particular grade based on the regulators’ demands,” she said.
Dr Kukeba warned that unless science education at the secondary-school level improves, some students from the region could struggle to meet the new requirements.
“What may happen to our region is that we may have the university, but our own people may not be able to attend it because of that,” she said.
She was speaking on A1 Radio during a discussion on “The Future of Science and Technology Education in the Upper East Region: The Role of the University of Technology and Applied Sciences.”
Dr Kukeba said some students arrive at UTAS without sufficient practical knowledge in basic science, requiring additional support before they can effectively undertake their programmes.
She identified shortages of teachers in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and Computer Science as some of the challenges affecting science education in the region.
Dr Kukeba proposed greater collaboration among Senior High Schools to make better use of the limited number of specialised science teachers available.
She said, for example, schools with Physics teachers could support nearby schools without teachers in the subject, while similar arrangements could be developed for other science disciplines.
UTAS, she said, is also considering more deliberate outreach by its academic departments to support Senior High Schools and strengthen the preparation of students interested in science and technology programmes.
The university currently runs bridging and access programmes to address some gaps in students’ science knowledge, but Dr Kukeba said this places additional pressure on lecturers who have to revisit basic concepts alongside their regular university teaching.
“When they come, we will not be struggling to have to go back to the basic,” she said of the need to strengthen students’ preparation before university.
Dr Kukeba, a former student of Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School, said improving science education at the secondary level would create a stronger pool of students capable of pursuing science, technology and health-related programmes at UTAS and other tertiary institutions.
A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Moses Apiah | Bolgatanga
