MoE targets 25% ‘STEM enrolment’ in 2023 computer placement

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum following this year’s computer placement of BECE graduates into Senior High Schools says his outfit is working with Free Senior High School Secretariat to increase the number of students to pursue science-related courses.

In a discussion, he said Operation Double Science Enrolment has been launched to educate and sensitize the public about the benefits of pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related courses.

The initiative he said is designed to educate, raise awareness, and demystify science education to higher enrolment rates in Senior High Schools during the upcoming Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).

The Education Minister disclosed that enumerates interventions and plans have been put in place to ensure that this year’s CSSPS records at least 25 per cent of Science enrolment, as opposed to the current 12 per cent at the SHS level.

A Deputy National Coordinator for the Free Senior High School Secretariat, Vera Asantewaa Andoh, who is leading the project, hinted at an upcoming broadcast of a video documentary highlighting the importance of choosing Science.

This documentary which will soon be aired on television stations across the country, Vera said will also provide information to parents, candidates, and other stakeholders about the school selection process set to begin soon.

In a related development, the Ministry in Charge of Education ahead of the selection of second-cycle schools by Junior High School graduates who sat for the 2023 BECE has uploaded the Senior High Schools selection form online.

The 2023 selection of schools scheduled to commence on August 23, 2023, the Education Ministry in a statement shared with AcademicWeek.com said will end on September 4, 2023, with no further extension of the deadline.

The Education Ministry also indicated a video to explain the 2023 schools selection guidelines to prospective candidates has been produced. The school’s selection video it said will be played on radio and television stations.

“The video will be featured within schools and extensively broadcast on various television. The video and the selection form will also be accessible on the official website of the Free Senior High School (SHS) Secretariat at www.freeshs.net

The Ministry encourages active participation and notes the importance of the following timelines for all stakeholders, including BECE graduates, parents/guardians, and the general,” the Education Ministry said in the press statement.