ASHENEWS reports that the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has harped on the need for schools in rural communities to have increased teachings in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), with particular focus on female students.
Speaking at the second edition of the FunSTEM series in Abuja, the APWEN President, Dr. Elizabeth Eterigho, stressed the need to eradicate stereotypes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching in schools in urban and rural areas, especially as the students write the same external examinations.
“Rural communities face a learning and skills crisis that is leaving girls ill-prepared to develop critical knowledge to participate in the opportunities that are created, particularly in engineering.
“When there are external examinations for school certificates and to enter the university, these students, both from urban and rural areas, write the same examinations.
“This is why attention should be given to rural areas to enable them to meet up with the rural areas, while the public schools should be able to compete favorably with their peers in private schools”, she said.
Eterigho said that one of APWEN’s missions is to increase awareness that engineering is an absolute career for girls in order to improve the numerical strength of female engineers in Nigeria, adding that this is the reason for the introduction of FunSTEM.
FunSTEM, she said, is part of the effort to erase stereotypes in STEM subjects by using community projects to grill the female students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning so they are motivated to choose a career in engineering.
“The vision of the APWEN FunSTEM is to give all girls opportunities to learn, achieve, and excel in science, technology, and engineering solutions and to incorporate a fun and exciting practical with gender-responsive demonstrations into STEM learning.
“FunSTEM also seeks to pique the curiosity or interest of the student, thereby leading to taking up careers in STEM, specifically engineering, particularly in public schools.
“Therefore, there is every need to bring up the students who attend public schools to the same level as those that attend private schools in terms of STEM teaching. Most importantly, there is free, hands-on teaching and learning of STEM activities.”
The President explained that FunSTEM will harness the “free hand-on activities” model in teaching STEM to raise the inquisitiveness of the students and their ability to comprehend the relevancy or role of STEM in infrastructural and economic development for the citizenry of the nation.
According to her, it will be learning made easy, fun, logical reasoning, collaborative, communicative, investigative and creative.
Eterigho explained that the project is sponsored by the Worley Foundation and is targeted at Sapele, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Abuja, adding that the first edition was done in Lagos and Port Harcourt, where 100 students were trained, while this second edition was held physically in Abuja and hybrid in Sapele, with 100 students trained.
The Legal Governance Director of Worley Singapore, Megha Mittal, said that engineering is a dynamic field that shapes the world and helps in designing sustainable solutions to developing cutting-edge technologies.
She stressed the need for more women to be involved in engineering, as engineers are an important tool in addressing global challenges and creating a better future.
“STEM education is the groundwork for future engineers by integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It fosters critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity, all of which are essential for success in the engineering field.
“So I encourage all the participants to explore the exciting opportunity opportunities within generic activities, participate in integrated projects, and connect with professionals in the field to get insight into the diverse career paths available in engineering and stem.”
The President of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Tasiu Gidari Sa’ad Wudil, who was represented by the NSE National Exco Member, Collaboration and Linkages,
Engr. Rachel Serumun Ugye commended APWEN for the project and for their stride in increasing the number of women engineers.
At the end of FunSTEM, a Junior Science STEM kit was distributed, and commitments were made to set up a STEM hub in schools.
