Major rehabilitation of Science Centres

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah

All National Science Resource Centres (NSRC) in senior high schools (SHS) across the country are to go through a major    rehabilitation.

The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo in an interview, said the rehabilitation works had become necessary as almost all the 110 NSRC lacked various equipment which were essential for the study of science in the SHSs.

“The NRSC were put up in the early 90s but had not seen any major rehabilitation exercise nor been re-equipped to conform with modern demands in the study of science,” he added.

He stated that the sole aim of establishing the NSRC was to make science more attractive to students and also to enable schools which did not have laboratory facilities move to those with the resource centres for their practical lessons.

Mr Tettey-Enyo, further explained that due to the lack of basic science facilities, like the microscope, laboratory stools and apparatus for practical lessons, most students did not want to study the science programmes. 

“Normally when you ask some of the students to select science, you will hear them saying that science is too difficult. This is because the facilities are not available for them to experiment to see how easy science could be when the appropriate facilities are there from the basic level,” he said.

He added that the various science subjects such as physics, chemistry and biology were supposed to be more  practical than theory and, therefore, when the facilities were not in the laboratory for students to study, it would have a ripple effect on their final output in the  West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Mr Tettey-Enyo said with the replacement of obsolete apparatus at the resource centres with modern ones and also the rehabilitation of  infrastructure, it would urge school authorities to increase the intake of science students this academic year.