Nana Ekua Sekyiwaa Darko, the Head of Community Relations at the Petroleum Commission has said its girls’ clubs, to be established in Senior High Schools, is to increase girls’ participation in the sciences to spur their inclusion.
She sided with Kwegyir Aggrey of Blessed memory that educating the girl child offered every nation a powerful asset for societal transformation.
Ms Darko was speaking to the subject, “Building a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Future for the Ghana Upstream Petroleum Sector,” at the last day of the Commission’s annual Local Content Conference and Exhibition in Takoradi in the Western Region.
The conference gathered participants from across Africa and globally, to deliberate on the Upstream sector and form strategic partnership to advance that sector.
She underscored the high level of skills, especially in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields for the Upstream business and the need to build the capacities of girls in that area at the foundational level of education.
This would get them interested in the sciences for more representation in the area in the near future, Ms Darko said.
The Head of Community Relations said, “STEM is not for men only,” disabusing the minds of the growing girl from the myths and stereotypes on TVET and STEM.
Other contributors to the topic said the girl child had the ability to thrive in the sciences when fully supported by society and called for consideration of the needs of persons with disabilities too.
