Govt Urged to Focus More on STEM, Manpower

Uchechukwu Nnaike

Stakeholders in the education sector have been urged to invest in much-needed infrastructure and manpower to boost Nigeria’s science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

A group of panellists at the November edition of Ed-Tech Monday titled ‘Getting to the Root to Strengthen STEM’, stated this recently.

The event, an initiative of the Mastercard Foundation, in partnership with CcHub Limited, featured panellists from academia and the private sector, was moderated by social engineering practitioner Joyce Daniel.

Speaking during the panel session, the Dean of Life Sciences, University of Benin, Prof. Jerry Orhue, stressed the need to prioritise infrastructure and manpower to halt the decline in science enrolment in Nigerian institutions, especially in secondary schools.

Though Orhue admitted that science education is capital intensive, he urged governments at all levels to return to the old days by focusing on science education for development.

“If we are serious about revamping science education, we need to go back to the basics. There is a decline in enrolment because the level of commitment on the part of the government in the areas of time and other resources required is dying,” he said.

Also speaking, Ed-Tech entrepreneur and Founder Vinsight Technologies, Tomisin Kolawole, said there was a need for the sector to be restructured and reformed to pave the way for technological inclusion in the curriculum.

According to him, more Ed-Tech entrepreneurs or start-ups need to be encouraged through policymaking to develop solutions to make STEM education attractive to young Nigerians.

Programme Manager, Stemcafe, Elohor Udubrae, explained that having the right resources and enabling environment were pivotal to driving the growth of STEM education in Nigeria.

“Beyond that, the content of those materials must be relatable and specific and relevant to our demography such that kids can compete with 21st-century learning,” she added.