President John Dramani Mahama has revealed that he would have become an engineer if the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education had been available during his time in school.
According to John Mahama, a harsh maths instruction discouraged hom with led to him experiencing a lasting impact and contributed to his decision to pursue arts and humanities.
John Mahama recalled the harsh methods used in teaching mathematics during his childhood, with teachers using mental and whipping them.
Speaking at the launch of the National STEM programme for basic schools at Sawla D/A Primary and JHS, as part of his “Resetting Ghana” tour of the Savannah Region, President John Dramani Mahama stated, “Maybe if there had been STEM at the time I was in school, I might now be a civil engineer, or I’ll be a mechanical engineer or something”.
“At that time, we used to do mental. They’ll come with a whip — nine times nine, nine times nine, whip! Eighteen times twenty-four, whip! I mean, you just scared the child. How can a child learn mathematics in that kind of atmosphere?” he stated.
“But that is how we grew up. And so if I drifted to the arts and humanities, it was only natural because I was traumatised by the way it was taught. Today, our children have a better opportunity,” he added.
In other news, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the former Education Minister under the Nana Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, has explained why some top schools continue to dominate the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
According to Dr Adutwum, students at top schools like PRESEC benefit from teachers who serve as examiners and markers.
He explained that these teachers provide their students with a deeper understanding of how to answer questions to meet WAEC standards.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on Hot 93.9FM’s ‘Hot Morning Drive’, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum stated, “Top schools like PRESEC, their teachers are examiners, so they had the insight that propelled them to do better than those whose teachers were not”.
Also, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has disclosed that he was not surprised that the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results were bad compared to previous years.
According to Dr Adutwum, the Akufo-Addo government used to pay teachers for extra classes to prepare WASSCE candidates, but the current Mahama government discontinued it.
Dr Adutwum further highlighted that claims that the 2025 WASSCE results were bad due to the Ghana Education Service and other authorities stopping exam malpractices are not factual.
He disclosed that in 2025 6000 subjects were cancelled compared to 4000 in 2024.
Speaking during an interview on JOYNEWS, Dr Adutwum explained, “We used to pay teachers to teach extra classes to prepare the students, but this government discontinued paying the teachers for that aspect. So, to me, I was not surprised that we got the results that we got. What I was surprised by was when I heard in the news that somehow the students didn’t do well because they had stopped cheating.
Then I went to check the number of exams that were cancelled, and this year, 6000 subjects were cancelled compared to 4000 in 2024, so it could not be true”.
