A Non-Governmental Organisation, Education and Empowerment Centre for Women (EECW) has called for the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education for girls in rural areas in Kaduna state.
The EECW project coordinator, Mr Ben Dankaka, made the call during a science-themed schools debate in Kagoro, Kaura Local Government Area.
EECW organised the debate under it’s Laraba Deyjih Akapson Science Innovation Prize for Girls initiative.
Dankaka explained that the initiative seeks to educate and empower young girls in rural areas who have limited access to STEM education and resources.
“The Laraba Deyjih Akapson Science Innovation Prize for Girls is an initiative by EECW, established in honour of the late Mrs Laraba Deyjih Akapson.
“She was the mother of EECW founder, Senator Nenadi Usman, and lived a life dedicated to serving others.
“To continue her legacy, this initiative seeks to bring STEM learning to girls who wouldn’t normally have access to it.
“Since girls make up a large portion of Nigeria’s population, it’s important to provide them with more opportunities to learn about science and technology.
Dankaka stated that the focus on STEM had become necessity as a result of the lack of adequate awareness about it, especially in rural areas.
“Right now, not many students in Africa, including Nigeria study STEM subjects especially compared to countries like China and India.
“In Nigeria, fewer than 25 percent of students choose STEM, and only a small number of them finish with STEM degrees,” he added.
The guest speaker, Mrs Gillian Ashio, Head of Department, Technical Education, Kaduna State College of Education, delivered a paper titled “The Future of Education: How Young Innovators Can Change The World”.
Ashio noted that Nigeria’s youthful population has the potential to transform it’s educational system through creativity, technology and lessons from other countries.
“Young people like you can help solve educational problems by bringing new ideas where traditional methods have failed.
“Finland for example focuses on practical learning instead of too many tests and examinations.
“Students engage in hands on projects such as building models or conducting experiments thereby promoting creativity,” she stated.
Highlight of the event was a debate contest between Girls Science Secondary School (GSSS) Kwoi; Government Girls College (GGC), Zonkwa and Government Secondary School (GSS), Kagoro.
The topic of the debate was “Girls in Nigeria face more barriers in STEM due to cultural beliefs, not lack of interest”.
While GSS Kagoro came first, winning three desktop computers, GGC Zonkwa emerged first runner up and was rewarded with two desktop computers while GSSS Kwoi took home one desktop computer for finishing third.
Flora Samuel from GSS Kagoro, who spoke on behalf of the students, thanked the organisers for coming up with initiatives aimed at encouraging girls from rural communities to explore careers in STEM fields.
