Get news alerts Login Central AfricaEast AfricaHorn of AfricaIndian OceanNorth AfricaSouthern AfricaWest AfricaAfrica / World Agriculture - NutritionCulture - ArtsEconomy - DevelopmentEnvironment - NatureGay - LesbianGender - WomenHealthHuman rightsLabourMediaPoliticsScience - EducationSocietyTechnologyTravel - Leisure From Behind By Country By Topic Chronological Press Releases Partner Media Contact Us
   
 


See also:
» 20.01.2010 - Legislators reject motion to probe mass sackings
» 05.01.2010 - Nigeria’s Central Bank refutes sack order reports
» 15.12.2009 - Local NGO denounces deregulation law
» 10.12.2009 - Efforts intensify to fight malaria in Kenya and Nigeria
» 25.11.2009 - Nigerian cyber fraudster in court
» 18.11.2009 - Nigerian fishermen flee Bakassi Peninsula
» 10.11.2009 - Former NPA chief denied bail
» 16.10.2009 - Gabon and Nigeria elected to UN Security Council








Nigeria
Economy - Development | Politics | Science - Education

Nigeria: No scientific success without mathematics

afrol News / SciDev.Net, 16 October - The Nigerian government must invest in mathematics education if the country is to become scientifically literate, according to one of Nigeria's top mathematicians.

Sam Ale, Director of the National Mathematical Centre in Abuja, Nigeria, said the country needs to spend US $31 million over 13 years if it is to achieve its goal of being in the top 20 world economies by year 2020.

Ale's plan, announced last September during the 5th meeting of Nigeria's International Mathematics and Sciences Olympiads Committee, focuses on demystifying mathematics for both teachers and students.

Nigeria currently ranks as one of the least mathematically literate nations, according to the International Mathematical Union (IMU).

Reuben Ayeni, President of the Mathematical Society of Nigeria, told SciDev.Net that the investment could be used to fund scholarships for students to study mathematics at a tertiary level. He also suggested it could fund teacher - and student-driven research into effective methods of teaching mathematics. The National Mathematical Centre, in conjunction with Nigeria's federal and state education ministries, is also looking into this area.

Chris Ikporiko, Vice Chancellor of the country's Niger Delta University in the southern state of Bayelsa, identified the "bad foundation" in science and mathematics at secondary school level as the reason why art-based courses dominated the nation's universities, according to a report last week (11 October) in the Financial Standard.

Other suggestions discussed at the meeting include creating a joint degree programme run by the National Mathematical Centre in conjunction with the National Open University of Nigeria, and teacher workshops funded by Nigeria's Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

Further afield, the African Millennium Mathematics Science Initiative is tackling the problem by offering fellowships for research and postgraduate mathematics teaching at any university in sub-Saharan Africa.


- Create an e-mail alert for Nigeria news
- Create an e-mail alert for Economy - Development news
- Create an e-mail alert for Politics news
- Create an e-mail alert for Science - Education news

    E-mail this to a friend     Printable version

Related pages and feature
Current afrol News Top Stories
Nigeria
Economy - Development
Politics
Science - Education
Affairs
Affairs
Development
Economy
Natural sciences
There are currently no news articles published related to this section.


top of page about afrol News | news | countries | archive | services | feed back | español 

© afrol News. Reproducing or buying afrol News' articles.

   You can contact us at mail@afrol.com