Currently in the throes of a ‘pitch’ for both public and private sector financial support to field teams for forthcoming Robotics competitions in Dubai and South Korea, respectively, the organisation STEMGuyana, will be keeping an eye on the help that the British oil company, Tullow Oil, has been extending to the furtherance of science and mathematics education in Ghana by hosting that country’s first ever STEM Share Fair.
Earlier this week Stabroek Business monitored a report that Tullow Oil was working with local organisations in Ghana to build capacity in the STEM-related disciplines, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, from the basic level to tertiary level in support of Ghana’s national development agenda.
The report seen by Stabroek Business says that the Tullow STEM Share Fair represents a strategic support mechanism designed “to improve quality education in Ghana.” Tullow has reportedly already “deployed into infrastructure development” in Ghana, contributions to “a total of 20 classroom blocks and dormitories” which the report says are to be built with US$10 million over five years, in conjunction with the country’s Ministry of Education. Under the arrangement with the government in Ghana, more than 150 tertiary students are set to benefit from graduate and post-graduate STEM scholarships.
STEMGuyana is currently preoccupied with accumulating funds to meet the costs associated with sending teams to two separate Robotics events in Dubai and South Korea, an initiative to which the Government of Guyana has already committed some measure of financial support.
Stabroek Business understands that Tullow Oil, which on Monday August 12 announced that it had made a major oil find in Guyana, has already been in communication with STEMGuyana, raising expectations that the local entity that has established training cells in some of the country’s administrative regions may benefit from support from Tullow.
The report on the partnership between the oil exploration firm Tullow Ghana, government, and private entities in that country indicates that more than US$30 million has been spent in providing support for institutions which seek to train, mentor and build the capacity of young Ghanaians in order to help them become “active agents of socio-economic change in the field of technology and engineering.”
The 2019 STEM Share Fair allowed institutions in Ghana to “share their success stories and the strides they continue to make in encouraging sterling initiatives and ownership by young people to provide ideas and practical solutions to foster development and growth in the country,” the report says.
A Ghanaian spokesperson for Tullow was quoted as saying that the company aims to “bridge the gap” and ensure that Ghanaians “get a lot more into engineering and science education so that we can have innovations… we also get to benefit with our local content needs and ensuring that we have a lot more nationals in the Oil and Gas industry.” he added.
