How A Little Tool Kit is Changing the Narrative On Stem Education in Ghana

In 2018, the Science Set was adjudged the greatest innovation of the year by the African Union. For its manufacturers, it was a major milestone that helped to launch their product onto the world stage but for many it was a celebration of African ingenuity. An idea conceived, nurtured and developed in Kumasi will go on to become one of the recognized solutions to Africa’s major challenge in STEM education.

The Science Set is a simple toolbox that contains materials for practical STEM activities. Since 2017, the Science Set has reached over 7,000 teachers and 50,000 students in Ghana and beyond. The goal of Dext Technology Limited, the producers of the Science Set is to reach as many schools as possible with its product to make the teaching and learning of science more practical, collaborative and exciting.

Dext has adopted two main approaches in expanding its reach to schools across Ghana and beyond. The first being through direct targeting of schools and educational institutions and the other being through partnerships and projects with funding organizations that help to supply schools in rural and deprived areas in Ghana. This creates a balance and ensures that everyone no matter their socio-economic status has access to this useful resource.

The anecdotes on the impact of the Science Set on the teaching and learning of STEM have been enormous. In the words of Ms. Grace Eshun, a teacher at the Mante-Din School in Tema, “I have been teaching for five years and I have never come across anything like the Science Set. It has made teaching science very practical and has also brought the curriculum to life, we can feel whatever we are doing which makes the whole teaching process easier”.

Beyond all of these, the Science Set has gone on to inspire innovation among teachers and students on certain STEM platforms such as the Ghana Science and Tech Explorer Prize Teachers and Students Hack Events and the Indorama Ventures Limited Innovators Program. For most of these students and teachers, the Science Set served as a starting point for them to build projects and functioning prototypes such as hand washing systems, security alarm systems, bluetooth devices and many more.

To boost the drive for nationwide access to the Science Set, Dext Technology has explored ways to engage key governmental education regulatory institutions not only to make a case for the need of the toolkit in the classroom but also to highlight the role it can play in the overall professional development of teachers and educators. These engagements have also helped to initiate conversations on curriculum development, policy development and legislation on STEM education.