Prof. Daniel Kwadwo Asiedu Delivers Inaugural Lecture

Professor Daniel Kwadwo Asiedu

Professor Daniel Kwadwo Asiedu, Provost, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, has advocated for the study of Geoscience at the basic to the tertiary education levels to ensure sustainable and equitable distribution of Ghana’s natural resources.

Professor Daniel Kwadwo Asiedu, made the call at his Inaugural Lecture which was on the topic: Geoscience Education in Ghana and Sustainable Development. According to him, in spite of the glaring needs for Geoscience literacy, the Science curricula of the basic and secondary schools do not cover as many topics in Geoscience compared to other science disciplines like Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

He said the study of Geoscience was crucial in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and also addressing environmental challenges and natural resource limitations. This, he noted, would enable the future generation to formulate policies to safeguard the environment and humanity.

Prof. Asiedu explained Geoscience as the study of the earth, its materials, structures and processes that shapes it.  He said “when we understand the earth’s history, we are able to foresee how events and processes of the past might influence the future so as to prevent geohazards such as landslides, earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. It also helps us to conserve earth resources and preserve them from pollutants”. He made it known that, decisions makers also benefit from Geoscience as they are able to know where certain earth problems come from.

According to Prof. Asiedu, the study of Geoscience would help inform policy-makers on important areas of sustainable development such as access to clean water, sanitation, food security and agro-geology, as well as disaster risk reduction, energy supply and management, improved infrastructure and ensure access to basic services.

Additionally, it would help humanity to understand the causes and potential consequences of natural earth processes such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, weather and climate change, he explained.

Prof. Asiedu concluded by providing ways by which the Geoscience workforce and education in the country could be improved.  He proposed that public and private universities be provided with incentives for running Geoscience programme and introducing compulsory general education courses in Geoscience. Courses in Geoscience should also be introduced in the Colleges of Education. Stressing that, a review of the science curricula in the basic and secondary schools to contain component of earth science was eminent.  He added that scholarships and grant should be awarded to students majoring in Geoscience and finally, Geoscience workforce should be empowered and actively engaged in achieving the SDG’s

Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the Vice-Chancellor, who chaired the lecture, in his closing remarks, reiterated the need to protect the environment from illegal mining activities, popularly known as “galamsey”.

He noted that, continued degradation of the environment would be detrimental to the future generation, saying: “The destruction of our arable agriculture lands, water bodies and aquatic life will not be good for us therefore we need to take Geosciences seriously to safeguard our future”. Prof. Oduro Owusu was of the view that policies be streamlined in the country to be able to leave a clean and sustainable environment for the future generation.

Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the Vice-Chancellor

The lecture which attracted the University’s Faculty and students as well as students from the secondary level was preceded by a weeklong exhibition organised by the Balme Library. This was used to showcase the scholarly works of Prof. Daniel K. Asiedu. From the exhibition, his focused area was on sedimentary Petrology with most of his research works on the use of petrographic, geochemical and isotopic techniques to constrain the provenance of siliciclastic sedimentary rocks.

Prof. Asiedu receiving a gift from his wife after the lecture

Some members of the audience at the lecture