The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) and the Nigerian Young Academy (NYA) have called on federal and state governments to look into integrating the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) scheme into primary and secondary schools nationwide to enable Nigeria compete favourably with other countries in science and technological innovations.
They made the appeal, Wednesday, in Abuja during the presentation of a report on the STEAM education project, which was sponsored by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
While presenting the project report, a Fellow Academy of Sciences (FAS) and Chairman, STEAM Implementation Team, Prof Emerita Obioma Nwaorgu, said, despite the benefits of STEAM education, Nigeria lacks the necessary support for its full implementation.
She said NAS, in collaboration with NAL and NYA, proposed ways to advance STEAM education in Nigeria and was sponsored by JAMB, which is the reason for the officials being at JAMB headquarters for the presentation of the report.
She said the objective of the project was to advocate for and mainstream locally appropriate STEAM policies into education in schools, adding that the journey started with members of the project committee, comprising JAMB and academics, developing strategies on what to do.
She said one of the achievements recorded by the project was its inclusion in the 2024 education roadmap of the federal government and a draft policy document for STEAM in Nigeria, adding that the project was piloted in Adamawa, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Rivers and Sokoto states, with 222 teachers selected by the Ministry of Education for interaction with the implementation team.
She said: “Some of our notable achievements include NUC and UBEC developing interest in the project. UBEC was with us in the six pilot states. We strengthened partnership with education stakeholders, so it is a major achievement. We now have a major document which we can present to the National Assembly as the need arises.
“There is increased awareness as some people who never heard about STEAM are now talking about it. Even the Ondo state government congratulated us in a letter, so there are many achievements. We have also strengthened the capacity of teachers on STEAM education. Prospective UTME candidates and teachers are now aware of how to improve their performance in states. We want to go beyond this. The team recommends the replication of the STEAM educational activities in the 30 remaining states of the federation and the FCT.
“There is high expectation improvement in UTME performance in the 6 pilot states of the STEAM project. The team delivered on its goals and objectives. The implementation of STEAM in Nigeria is achievable. There is need for sustainability, there is need to move forward. We need more states to key into the STEAM education for improvement. When you introduce design into learning programme, it makes it better and you can start teaching children at a younger age, moulding them to have critical minds at a younger age.”
While receiving the report, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, represented by the Director of Finance and Accounts, Mufutau Bello, urged the team to leverage on opportunities available in research to impact the education sector positively.
“We hold this project in high esteem. This project should be the beginning of collaboration with various academies in the country. We believe that in a matter of time, there will be collaboration between academics,” he said.
