Date: Nov - 09 - 2021 , 13:12
BY: GNA
Category: General News
Rev John Ntim Fordjour - Deputy Education Minister
Rev John Ntim Fordjour - Deputy Education Minister
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Ghana has made climate education a topmost priority in its reformed standards-based curriculum, a Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has said.

He said the education sector was the hardest hit by climate induced disasters like floods, storms, and droughts, hence the need to introduce children to the phenomena to build their resilience.

“The Education sector is always at the receiving end of disasters.

When there is drought, children trek long distances in search of water.

They are unable to go to school when a storm rips off roofs of their school building,” he said.

Rev. Fordjour made this known at the ongoing COP 26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Global movement

The global moment, which has assembled some 30,000 delegates including world leaders and innovators is seeking to discuss and identify ways to accelerate climate action over the next week.

It is aimed at finding a way to prevent rising global temperatures, and protecting the planet and people from the intensifying impacts of climate change that threatens health, education, food security and the environment.

The deputy minister mentioned that early and timely exposure of children, especially girls, to climate change and its impacts could encourage and entice them to opt for science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) programmes to innovate simple technologies to address challenges that affected them.

Throwing more light on the climate education implementation, he explained that the Ministry of Education, working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)?had equipped teachers with knowledge of climate change to teach children up to the pre-tertiary level.

He said the Ministry and the EPA was looking for partners to bring climate change and green economy literacy to secondary education, and work with teacher training institutions to strengthen climate change and green economy issues in the standard training programme for teachers.

Climate change

Rev. Fordjour, who is part of Ghana’s delegation to the COP26, said a strong presentation on the nexus between education and climate change had been made and the relevant issues highlighted to stakeholders.

“When flood displaces their homes, children miss out on school.

Some, especially adolescent girls, do not even return to school.

The big problem is that these children will lose out on being empowered and acquisition of skills that will help them out of poverty,” he said.