NMC expresses worry over poor performance of female students in Mathematics

THE National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Abuja, has expressed concern over the poor performance of female students in Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences.

Expressing this concern last weekend, the director of the centre, Professor Stephen Onah, noted that there is usually the perception (by women) that the subject is not meant for them, which, he reasoned, is responsible for why female students rarely study mathematics in the university.

Professor Onah also revealed that of the 16 young Nigerian students who had been awarded scholarship due to their performance in international mathematics Olympiads to study abroad, none was a female.

He said, “No female student measured up to the standard for the competition as they always have a phobia for mathematics, but the boys always stand out among their contemporaries.

“This calls for concern because the female students in the country have not been competitive enough in all the Olympiads. They do not make an impact and it is only winners that win scholarships.”

The NMC chief attributed the low girl-child science education to the phobia for mathematics at the secondary school level.

“There is also this issue of having the impression that Mathematics is only for those who are brilliant and that it is not for everybody. The girl-child, in particular, feels that mathematical sciences are not meant for them, and that they can only do biological sciences and medical sciences.

“These are the issues we are being confronted with, and these are some of the reasons the NMC has been putting a lot of emphasis on creating awareness at the secondary school level,” he said.

He said part of the centre’s activities, such as the mental arithmetic project, are aimed at boosting the interest of the girl-child in the learning of mathematics.

“In this project, we emphasise more on the girl-child training in mathematics, and it is one of the reasons we have the UNESCO girl-child training programme we organise at the centre.

“The idea is to identify them, give them more attention and then see how we can groom them up through encouragement, so that they will know that they can do it just like the boys; and for us to achieve this, we need a lot of encouragement from the state governments,” he said.