By Augustine Okezie
Abuja
Supervising Minister of Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, has directed the nation’s universities and other stakeholders to support the International Science Olympiad competition.
He gave the directive on Tuesday in Abuja, when he received a group of contestants for the 5th edition of the world Olympiad led by the vice-chancellor of the Turkish Nile University, Prof. Husseyn Sert.
He said the federal government planned to encourage Nigerians to pick interest in science subjects to achieve its goal of technological development.
He said “for Nigeria to attain this set goal, international competitions such as the Olympiad, should be given the necessary support and encouragement to succeed.”
He said: “You cannot talk about technological advancement without science. So, we hope to encourage such programmes in order to bring out and mould the best for Nigeria.”
The minister assured the delegation of the ministry’s readiness to partner with institutions that would promote the development of science in the country.
Earlier, in an address, Sert said the Olympiad was introduced in 2009 for the development of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Technological Science.
He expressed optimism that hosting the event would create an international positive image for the country.
Blueprint reports that the International Science Olympiads is a group of worldwide annual competitions in various areas of science.
The competitions are designed for the 4th to 6th best university students from each participating country selected through internal National Science Olympiads.