Empower students to be environmentally conscious -GES advised

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has been advised to reintroduce Environmental Studies as a stand-alone subject in the GES Curriculum to align with global sustainability goals to empower students to be environmentally conscious and prepare them for a green economy.

‘’While the current integration of environmental topics in ‘Our World, Our People’ is commendable, a dedicated subject would allow for focused learning on essential topics such as ecosystems, waste management and renewable energy’’, the Co-Founder of Centre for Sustainable Transformation (CeST), Hilde Opoku, said.

She gave the advice as the guest speaker at the 10th anniversary and workshop for students of Economic sustainability Schools (Eco-Schools) at Akosombo.

The Eco-schools programme, which is part of the Education for Sustainability Development (ESD) was on the theme: ‘’Celebrating 10 years of education for sustainable development: Where do we go from here?’’

She said ESD was aimed at integrating sustainable development into all areas of education globally, encouraging nations to reform educational curriculum and teaching practices to emphasise environmental, social and economic sustainability, hence Eco-Schools. 

Educational strategies  

According to her, ESD and Eco-Schools connoted education that empowered students with knowledge, values and skills to address societal transformation aimed at narrowing the gap between knowledge and practice.

She said while fostering sustainable development through the education system, ESD simultaneously aimed at developing hands-on educational strategies while at the same time applying an equitable sustainability approach for the whole of society.

“It touches on every aspect of education: planning, policy development, programme implementation, finance, curricular, teaching, learning, assessment and administration among others,” she said.      

Mrs Opoku stated ‘’CeST is the only organisation working on Education for Sustainable Development in the country while at the same time, the education policy aims at introducing it across schools without knowing how, we should aim at giving advice on how this is met across schools in Ghana’’.

Critical competencies

She stated emphatically that from the late 1980s to 2019, the focus was on a broad range of subjects with an emphasis on practical skills and vocational education, alongside academic subjects.

The Asuogyaman Director of Education, Augustina Adjoa Owusu, said what she witnessed during the day’s workshop of the students of the Akosombo Eco-School on climate change, waste management and biodiversity as well as exhibitions that showcased students-led projects were equipping students to contribute to sustainable development now and the future.

The Headmistress of the Akosombo International School, Sarah Adei, in her opening remarks, said as the Eco-Schools celebrated the 10th remarkable milestone and its transformative impact on education for sustainable development, the initiative had not only redefined how we perceived education but had also empowered countless students and communities to engage with their environment in meaningful ways.