A new Mathematics textbook for first year Junior High School (JHS) students, was last Saturday launched in Kumasi with a call on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to adopt and purchase it for use by students.
The book titled: "Essential Mathematics Course Book One" was written by Mr Philip Kwasi Gyawu Baffour, a Ghanaian Mathematician and Quality Engineer based in London.
Mr Badu-Fordjour Anyan, Principal of the Wesley College of Education in Kumasi, who made the call, said the illustrations, presentations and other materials in the book were simple and easy to grasp and so without a teacher, a student would be able to understand mathematics and acquire the skills.
He said the five-year research textbook, was not just simple to understand mathematics, which a student would use and pass his examinations, but also for practical life.
Interacting with the press, Mr Gyawu said the progress of the country depended largely on the quality of people's education especially with the study of numbers.
Mr Gyawu said "up to now authorities have failed to put education at the forefront of policy, but now there is a clear concern and revitalization with regard to our children's education".
He said "it is his mission that every child entering high school gets a copy of the book in order to grasp the fundamental principles, concepts and to understand the theory and appreciation of mathematics for life skills".
The author said the textbook was the first of a series of three and intended to revolutionalize mathematics teaching and learning in Ghanaian schools.
He said, as a mathematical modeling and Aerospace Production Engineer System Analyst, he began a journey to enquire about teaching and learning in JHS in the catchments and during the period from 2004 to 2005, he visited schools, interviewed students, parents, teachers and examiners and even sat in classrooms to observe before setting off to make a fundamental difference in mathematics education of Ghana by writing the book.
Mr Gyawu said the book, which covers the full syllabus for JHS mathematics dated 2007, has a preface, a page of symbols and abbreviation together with the explanation of the international system of units and the SI convention.
He said there are 15 chapters, miscellaneous exercises and two pages of practical ways numbers are used in the book