President John Dramani Mahama has announced a GH₵10.3 million commitment to the African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence (ARISE) program, reinforcing Ghana’s strategic push to harness science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for national development.
Speaking at the opening session of the African Academy of Sciences meeting in Accra on Thursday, President Mahama laid out a comprehensive vision to position STEM education and research at the core of Ghana’s transformation agenda.
“There was a program to start building STEM secondary schools—specialized STEM secondary schools—and my point was that every secondary school should be a STEM school,” the President stated.
“We don’t have to build standard-room specialized STEM schools but to build STEM blocks and laboratories in every secondary school so that every child can have a STEM experience.”
The pledge to ARISE is part of a broader strategy that includes sweeping educational reforms from the basic to the tertiary level.
These reforms will emphasize STEM education, creativity, critical thinking, and equitable access through targeted social interventions.
President Mahama also announced plans to modernize the country’s research infrastructure, revamp academic curricula, and roll out new frameworks to encourage the commercialization of research outcomes.
“We’re pursuing this through massive reforms in education from basic to tertiary level with an emphasis on STEM education, creativity, and critical thinking,” he said.
“We’ll support researchers moving from discovery to deployment through incentives such as innovation grants, startup incubators, and technology parks.”
He further noted that intellectual property laws and university-industry collaboration agreements would be reviewed to unlock the economic value of Ghanaian innovation.
According to the President, the long-term vision is to build a globally competitive, innovation-ready workforce and to stimulate research-led industrialization.
Drawing inspiration from Asia’s development trajectory, President Mahama said Ghana must adopt bold, research-driven policies akin to those used by countries like China, South Korea, and Singapore.
“We must learn from our Asian brothers and sisters—China, South Korea, and Singapore. These countries pursued strategic catch-up policies anchored in scientific research, educational reform, and technological adaptation. Today, they are among the world’s most innovative economies,” he noted.
The announcement received praise from participants at the conference, who viewed it as a significant step toward reversing Ghana’s underinvestment in science and innovation.
The ARISE initiative, under the African Union and the African Academy of Sciences, supports early-career researchers to drive home-grown solutions to African challenges. Ghana’s renewed commitment to the program signals a pivotal moment in its pursuit of knowledge-based development.
