There is a need for Nigeria to review its education system and increase productivity through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This was the submission of Ritman University Vice-Chancellor Prof Celestine Ntuen, in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, in a lecture he delivered at the Akpan Hogan Ekpo Centre for Public Policy at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) in Akwa Ibom State. EDIDIONG ESARA reports.
Professor Celestine Ntuen was disappointed to find the equivalence of an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) holder as Chief Engineering Supervisor for a major drainage work at Ibeno Beach, Akwa Ibom State. His inquiry revealed that the qualification for the position was to be an America-trained civil engineer.
Prof Ntuen, who is the vice-chancellor (VC) of Ritman University in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, raised concern about the country’s reliance on expatriates to do works that could be done by local professionals. This, he said, would slow down the progress of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Nigeria.
The scholar, who is a fellow of United States Institute of Industrial Engineers, described STEM as the bedrock for development, saying it is an adaptive education that meets technological and economic needs of any nation.
He spoke at the Prof Akpan Hogan Ekpo Centre for Public Policy, University of Uyo (UNIUYO), where he delivered a paper titled: Public Policy for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM): Alleviating consumerism through practical innovation.
Prof Ntuen harped on the need for the country to revise its education with the aim to increase productivity through STEM as drivers. The scholar frowned on at a situation where science textbooks, written many years ago, were still being used in schools despite advanced research on the field.
He said: “Lecturers would rather force students to buy photocopied pages of expired books than break grounds with researches of their own. The curricula, pedagogy methods and texts should change periodically to suit changes in our social and economic environment. This is called adaptive education.”
Ntuen noted that STEM, as an approach and way of thinking, could be employed to motivate creativity and stoke innovation in young people. He also spoke of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), which, he said, emphasised a holistic education predicated on human endeavours as lens to understand the world.
He described STEM education as the bedrock for sustainable development. In the Global Competitiveness Report of 2015/2016, he said Nigeria was ranked 106 out of 140 countries on technological readiness, and 117 out of 140 countries on innovation. He lamented that Nigeria possesses high human resources without commensurate supply of STEM-skilled workforce to build manpower for development.
The don noted that the six objectives presented in the Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 made no mention of STEM education as key driver. He averred that Nigeria’s policies on Science and Technology suffered discontinuity due to leadership changes, incoherent policies and human resource deficiencies in the industrial sectors.
He said: “In general overview of our situation in Nigeria, our national policies on STEM and innovation are progressive, but there are some areas of concern, such as lack of qualified teachers and shortfall in number of qualified mathematics and science teachers from primary to secondary schools.
“Moreover, lack of modern laboratories to encourage competitive STEM education, lack of motivation at the nursery and primary stages to cultivate interests in STEM education, and failure of government to actively involve industries as stakeholders in formulating STEM education policies create evolution.”
Prof Ntuen said Nigeria could curb brain drain by enhancing innovative capacity and creating synergy between industry and academia for knowledge and technology flows from the science into industry. The purpose of such collaboration, he said, is to enhance opportunities for commercialisation of research products.
He advocated re-engineering of the STEM curriculum and called for introduction of the subjects in basic schools as done in advanced countries.
This could be done by developing policies and monitoring outcomes that improve proficiency of students in STEM. He said the curriculum should emphasise on understanding facts about STEM, principles and techniques as seen and practised in everyday life.
He said: “Curriculum planners should also develop policies on standard STEM literacy for citizens through the early discovery programmes. Minimum standards should include using critical thinking to recognise problems and utilising mathematics, science, technology, and engineering concepts to evaluate problems as well as product designs. Also, making policies that stipulate class size and staffing ratios with methods for accountability in teaching and learning is essential.”
Ntuen said it was time for Nigeria took action on STEM education for irreversible national development.