‘Exposure, content, human resources, bane of STEM education in Nigeria’

Founder of STEM METS Resources, Jadesola Adedeji has identified issues of exposure, content and human resources as the major challenges hindering the success of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the country.

Adedeji who spoke with The Guardian on the sideline of the Airbus Little Engineer launch at Methodist Girls’ High School, Lagos, said STEM is beyond giving notes or talking to students on its numerous benefits.

“To achieve success in STEM education, students must know what to do and all the opportunities inherent in the field, that is exposure. The curriculum must be well designed to include hands-on experience and follow the trend that is the content. And we must have qualified people to interpret and administer the programme, which is the human resource. If we get it right in exposure, content and human resource when handling STEM, the benefits will be huge,” she said.

Adedeji said the initiative tagged “A380,” was launched by Airbus Foundation in partnership with The Little Engineer and STEM METS Resources, to encourage students to understand and embrace technology, as well as ignite a passion that could grow into an exciting career in STEM field.

“So far through our workshops, we have trained more than 1000 students across the country. The Airbus Little Engineer programme is a unique learning opportunity. We want nothing more than for children in Nigeria to have access to innovative and alternative means of learning by creating an environment where STEM education will be embraced and enhanced.”

Executive Director of the Airbus Foundation, Andrea Debbane, said the four-hour A380 workshop saw the 30 participants focusing on identifying various aircraft parts and enhancing understanding of both the manufacturing and assembling processes of the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

“The students also got an opportunity to build an A380 scale model from scratch. That is from initial programme to understanding full take-off functionality of the aircraft. Investment in education and training are essential in building an educated and skilled workforce.