Over 1000 primary and secondary school students have been encouraged to take science seriously and change the world with the use of science and technology.
This encouragement was given to the participants at the 2017 Science fair event for female students which held on Thursday.
The event, which was organised by the Science Ambassadors Foundation (SAF) in collaboration with the Faculty of Science, University of Lagos, sought to increase the desire for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in the participants.
Peace Nnabugwu, country director, SAF, Nigeria, said there was a need for the growth of STEM in Nigeria explaining that a critical analysis of the ten most industrialised countries in the world shows the impact and importance of science and technology on health, transportation, communication and everyday consumer products.
“Unfortunately, due to poor funding of research and experiments, the teaching and learning in the field of science and technology in Nigeria has declined over the years.
“Also, the increase in the use of alternatives to practicals in the teaching of STEM subjects has made the learning of science more difficult. It is therefore important for government to encourage schools in providing STEM learning in order to solve existing problems.”
In his speech, Toyin Ashiru, CEO, Tri-continental Limited, urged the participating schools and students to take STEM careers seriously, saying it produces professionals that build communities, transform nations and solve complex problems in today’s world and the future.
“For our nation, investing in the future of STEM is a priority. We must begin to appreciate scientists and innovators even more than we celebrate musicians and actors.
“We need to encourage the students to understand the merits of taking as many Mathematics and Science courses as possible and those courses need to be taught by engaged and enthusiastic teachers using hands-on and minds-on activities.”
Over 50 schools were represented at the event which also featured live experiment on metals using Dalic Technology.
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