A 13 year-old prodigy, Melchizedeck Adio Baafawiise has become the youngest undergraduate enrolled at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Melchizedek is pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Physics at KNUST, after scoring an impressive A1 in five subjects, which included Physics and Mathematics at the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The teen prodigy is fascinated by Mechanics most, with Electricity and Magnetism appearing abstract to his liking.
I love the calculations and the mechanics. When you perform experiments, you get to feel them. Even though with electricity, you perform experiments, you don’t see the electrons moving,” he explained.
Melchizedek’s childhood was shaped by his parents—his father, an economics teacher, and his mother, a primary school teacher. With such an academic influence around him, he first envisioned a future as a pilot. Yet, as he explored the possibilities, he soon recognized the challenges and limitations of that career path.
He chose to study Physics to explore his interests before reconsidering his dream to become a pilot.
If I study Physics, I’ll get to discover my true interest. By my third or fourth year, I’ll decide whether to specialise in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering,” he said.
Melchizedek attended St. Cyprian’s Minor Seminary SHS in Sawla Ghana, where he skipped Forms 2 and 3. Initially intimidated, it didn’t take long for him to adapt and feel comfortable among his older peers at the university.
Melchizedek is not the first teen to wow the country as a university entrant at 13; in 2017, Ruth Ama Gyan-Darkwah was the youngest university entrant also attending KNUST at the age of 13. Like Melchizedek, she was the child of a physics teacher. She pursued Mathematics in her Bachelor’s degree; as of 2023, she was pursuing her PhD at the University of New Mexico at the age of 18.