As a child, Paulga Yakubu was very curious about nature and the things in the environment. His curiosity was so great that he used to dismantle his father’s radio and other electronic gadgets in order to see what was in them and to figure out how they functioned. Over the years, he became known as the ‘repairer’ of the house. Paulga was also interested in learning how the human body functioned, and this influenced his decision as a child to take up nursing as a profession. But as he grew older he realized that nursing was not his calling after all. His mathematics and social studies teacher, Mr Ampong, who is currently an assistant head teacher of a secondary school, inspired the young Paulga further. Mr Ampong motivated his students and handled students’ issues with care. Mr Ampong’s influence was a major factor in Paulga’s decision to go into teaching.
After his senior high school education, Paulga gained admission into St. Joseph’s College of Education, Bechem, where he specialized in science and technical skills and graduated as a professional teacher. He later enrolled at the University of Education, Winneba for his post-diploma certificate.
Mr Yakubu has been teaching for nine years and he currently has about one hundred and nine students. He teaches science and technical skills and he does that with a lot of passion. During his time as a teacher, he was selected to partake in a workshop organized by BSTEM. Through this workshop, he received a lot of science apparatus which he has been using to teach practical lessons to his students.
Paulga thinks that science is essentially about nature, and anything that happens in nature can be explained scientifically. As a STEM educator, he is inspired by the scientific answers to questions about things that happen within and around the environment.
When he sees his students perform well and become successful, Paulga is happy and motivated as an educator because he puts in a lot of effort towards ensuring that his students understand what he is teaching. He is especially excited about two of his students who are currently reading medicine at the University of Development Studies.
Paulga has been a member of BSTEM since 2018. He joined the organisation because it is a platform where practical ideas can be shared among STEM educators, and he also intends to join GAST soon. He admits that the JUNEOS Challenge has increased his students’ interest in STEM and has also influenced his teaching in the sense that he now allows his students to be more creative with their practical lessons.
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Article by Kofi Dzogbewu.
Kofi Dzogbewu is a Ghanaian storyteller. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Language and Literature from the University of Ghana. He is an alumnus of the Mo Issa Writing Workshops. You can find more of his work on his blog and find him on all social media platforms with the name ‘Kofi Dzogbewu’ (@fdzogbewu).
