A lecturer at Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Dr Kola Adesina, has introduced a new learning framework that restores humanities to the widely adopted Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and STEAM curriculum. naming it MASHET.

Adesina, who is currently Head of the Department of Mass Communication, said the existing STEM model and its variant, STEAM, have both failed to adequately integrate humanities, a discipline he described as critical for human development, ethical reasoning, and social responsibility. He argued that the missing “h” is not a cosmetic addition but a fundamental repositioning of how formal education should be structured in the 21st century.

The university teacher noted that both STEM and STEAM had, in the last two decades, produced technically proficient graduates, but the absence of the humanities has left many students deficient in critical thinking, ethical judgment and communication.

“STEM and STEAM have produced excellent technical minds over the past 20 years, but they have largely ignored social engineering, leading to inadequate thinking in many instances.

Adesina said he developed the MASHET concept after two decades of reflection and study, beginning with his postgraduate certificate in education at Canterbury Christ Church University in the United Kingdom.

He said his observations of students across Africa, including his own, showed that many excelled in technical subjects but struggled with critical analysis, ethical reasoning, persuasive writing, and the ability to interrogate the societal impact of innovation.

He noted that the global conversation around education reform has increasingly questioned the dominance of STEM.

In 2023, UNESCO called for greater integration of the social and human sciences into science education, warning that technical education without a humanistic grounding could deepen inequality and create ethical blind spots in innovation.

Across all discipline, Adesina said learners would be trained to ask probing questions,

The framework, he explained, is not about reducing emphasis on technical skills that drive employment, but about balancing those skills with the capacity for context, moral reasoning and storytelling.

He said the humanities, when properly taught, equip students to
understand history, interpret culture, evaluate power and communicate ideas clearly, capacities that machines and algorithms cannot replicate.

Early reactions among African educators have been mixed. Some applauded the framework as long overdue, arguing that Africa’s development challenges require graduates who can combine technical expertise with social insight.

Others, however, have expressed concerns that adding another letter to the acronym could dilute focus on technical skills that remain scarce and urgently needed for economic growth.

Adesina acknowledged the concern, but insisted that the goal is not to subtract from science and technology, but to deepen them.

“In Europe today and some other parts of the world, there is widespread recognition of the inadequacy of the focus on STEAM to the detriment of the societal values of humanity, ethics, contextual thinking, and other social engineering courses,” he said.

“That is why there are growing calls for more integration of humanities into the technical curricula.”