This is because out of 31 public SHSs in the region, only five of them are offering science.

The Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) at Sunyani in the region, Professor Harrison Dapaah, made the call at the inauguration of this year’s Science Festival, for basic and SHS students in the region.

He said the three-day festival would encourage students to study science, noting that science and technology formed the foundation for development.

The Vice Chancellor said, “We do not have any excuse to relegate the study of science to the background.”

He stressed that “as a nation, it has become imperative for us to encourage the study of science at all levels of education, so as to help us find practical solutions to our problems through scientific discoveries”.

Prof Dapaah said the university would collaborate with relevant institutions, especially the GES, to initiate measures to whip up interest in the study of science among students.

He said that UENR would organise science and mathematics clinic for SHS female students to enable them re-sit their West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination.

Prof Dapaah said it formed part of the university’s policy to encourage female students to study science and engineering programmes at the university.

Prof  Daniel Obeng-Ofori, VC of Catholic University College of Ghana, said there was the need for the country to prioritise science education and research.

He said research helps the country to improve upon agriculture, by finding solutions to post-harvest losses and low cocoa production of the country.

Prof  Esi Awuah, former VC of UENR, bemoaned the low level of interest of students in the study of mathematics and science.

He said that was the reason some students did not seek to study engineering programmes at the university.

From Daniel Dzirasah, Sunyani