By Thompson ABISOLA
By most accounts, the interest of most Nigerian students in pursuing science, mathematics and allied courses has waned considerably, as a larger percentage of the students now prefer to enrol for courses in the arts and social sciences.
This development had been a source of serious concern to observers because Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects have been widely recognised as the nucleus of a wide variety of jobs and professions.
“Studying these subjects in college will give you the skills you need to take part in building the world of our future,’’ some say.
Therefore, concerned observers have been urging Nigerian students to have a rethink and develop appreciable interest in studying STEM courses.
For instance, the Governor-General of Canada, Ms. Julie Payette, recently urged Nigerian students to develop interest in studying STEM courses.
Payette gave the advice when she addressed some secondary school students at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in Abuja during her visit to Nigeria in October 2018.
She said that with determination, hard work and purposeful planning, the students could excel in any of their chosen careers in the STEM field.
In the same vein, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has repeatedly advised parents to encourage their children and wards to take up careers in the sciences.
In recent times, Onu gave such advice in Abuja when he received a delegation of Association of Professional Women Engineers in Nigeria (APWEN), led by its Chairperson, Mrs Joy Umunna-Nwaigwe.
He said that it had become imperative for parents to particularly encourage their female children to take up careers in the sciences so as to fast-track efforts to achieve gender balance in that field.
Besides, the minister urged women engineers to strengthen their functions as role models to young girls in the tertiary institutions so as to redress the perceptible gender imbalance in the engineering profession.
He said that the ministry would intensify its collaboration with serious-minded scientists and other professionals, including APWEN, in designed efforts to move the country forward.
“Nigeria will not be able to build a virile economy until there is a visible shift from commodity-driven economy to knowledge and innovation-driven economy, which science education can offer,’’ he said.
Onu commended the members of the association for attaining prominent positions in their various vocations.
Speaking, Umunna-Nwaigwe appealed to the ministry to partner with the association to promote its STEM and biomedical engineering projects.
She said that a major goal of the association was to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of technology in Nigeria.
She, nonetheless, urged the government to equip the science laboratories of schools in rural neighbourhoods across the country.
Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has pledged step up its efforts to encourage the youth to study STEM courses.
Mr Bitrus Nabasu, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, expressed the commitment via a statement signed by AbdulGaniyu Aminu, the Head of Press Unit of the ministry.
Nabasu made the promise
when he received an award for being an icon of diligent service and capacity
building in the federal civil service from Vision 1 — a Youth
Leadership Development Initiative.
“The ministry’s intention is to propel the nation’s youthful population by encouraging our youths to study courses in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
“The ministry is focused on promoting self-reliance in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), which is our constitutional function, as spelt out in Section 18, Sub-Section 2, whereby the Federal Government must promote STI,’’ he said.
Nabasu underscored the need for Nigeria to be self-reliant in the production of goods and services, particularly those whose prices could be effectively determined by the nation.
Nevertheless, African University of Science and Technology (AUST) has promised to intensify efforts to put in place better teaching methods for the teaching of mathematics in secondary schools.
Prof. Charles Chidume, Vice-President (Academics) of AUST, conveyed the pledge in his address at the Pan African School for Materials/Mathematics and Science for Sub-Saharan Africa (PASMAT1V/MS4SSA) workshop.
He said that the rationale behind the pedagogical project was to encourage students to learn mathematics thoroughly in order to prepare them for taking up careers in the sciences.
Chidume said that the workshop, which was sponsored by the World Bank, was organised to train the trainers in better methods of teaching mathematics in secondary schools.
The professor said that the workshop was organised as part of efforts to introduce a new programme in teaching mathematics and sciences in sub-Sahara Africa, adding that the beneficiaries of the training were, in turn, expected to train school teachers.
“What is unique about this is the way of training which involves the technique of breaking the students into groups. The students teach each other, while teacher plays the role of a facilitator.
“This will make mathematics to become what everybody can learn, instead of being the exclusive preserve of a few students.
“One unique thing about this is that the students working in groups will stimulate creativity and focus, thereby making them to inspire knowledge to solve their own problems.
“This approach, we believe, will increase the number of people who can become scientists,’’ he said.
Prof. Wole Soboyejo, the Dean of Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, in the U.S., said that the mathematics teaching and learning procedures, which some African countries inherited from their British colonial rulers, had been somewhat counterproductive.
“That method is good at training top people and not for everybody to learn. If you don’t have enough resources to invest in laboratories and other infrastructure; then, you must devise other ways for the students to learn.
“Lastly, when you learn science in a purely theoretical way, you cannot play with science and you cannot innovate. Therefore, we actually need to go back to the basics to enable the students to learn in a pragmatic way,’’ he said.
Soboyejo said that one of the greatest discoveries in the last 40 years was that people were able to learn better in groups.
Prof. Peter Onwualu, Director for Academic Planning in AUST, said that one of the primary objectives of AUST was to develop excellent technical learning facilities for the continent of Africa.
He said that AUST, which epitomised a global effort to learn faster, was operating a university system that was conceptualised and developed by Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST).
By and large, if the current efforts to promote science and technology education in the country are taken into consideration, more students will soon be inclined to studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses, while taking up careers in those fields.
