UNIBEN don, others seek improved ICT infrastructure, manpower for STEM

A Professor of Biochemistry and Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin (UNIBEN), Jerry Orhue and the programme manager at Stemcafe, Elohor Udubrae, as well as founder, Vinsight Technologies, Tomisin Kolawole, among others, have tasked stakeholders in the educational sector, to invest substantially in the provision of infrastructure and requisite manpower to boost Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the country.

They also asked for the restructuring of the country’s education system to pave way for technological inclusion in the curriculum.

They gave this position at a monthly virtual Ed-tech forum, organised by the Mastercard Foundation, in conjunction with ccHub Limited recently.

Professor Orhue, who is one of the panellists at the forum, stressed the need to give priority attention to tech-infrastructure and manpower to halt the decline in science enrolment in Nigerian schools, particularly at the secondary level.

While admitting that science education is capital-intensive, Orhue urged governments across tiers to return to the good old days when science education was taking the lead towards national development.

He said back then, students were encouraged to do science subjects because the government placed emphasis on it even above art and commercial subjects.

According to him, it was a thing of pride at that period up to the early 90s for a student to be referred to as a science student.

“But something can still be done if we are serious as a country to revamp science education and that is for all stakeholders to go back to the basics with the government being on the driver’s seat,” he stressed.

In his own contribution, Ed-tech entrepreneur, Tomisin Kolawole said there is really a need for Nigeria’s education system to be restructured to pave the way for technological inclusion in the curriculum.

He said: “Stakeholders in the education sector need to collaborate to foster the much-needed technological change in the country and globally and more ed-tech entrepreneurs or start-ups also need to be encouraged through policy-making to develop solutions that will make STEM education attractive to many young Nigerians.”

In her remarks, Programme Manager, Stemcafe, Elohor Udubrae, emphasised the need for Nigeria to have the right resources and enabling environment to drive meaningful development in STEM education in the country.

She said the onus to achieve this lied with all the stakeholders, including ed-tech entrepreneurs.

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