By IBRAHIM SHUAIBU

The federal government yesterday flagged off the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for the northwestern geopolitical zone in Kano State.

The event was held at Government Secondary School (GSS) Rano Local Government Council of Kano State. An e-Library was also commissioned at the Federal Government College (FGC), Kano.

Items equipped at the STEM centre in Rano included: 25 All-in-One Desktop PC 24inch Screen Intel 2.8 GHz quad-core, 25 Desktop tables and Chairs, one Projector of 5000 lumens, one magnetic white board for learning, one WiFi Routers multi-SIM and 18 Elegoo Robotics set.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, MS. Sadiya Umar Farouq, said the STEM project was conceived to provide a technical platform that would aid modern teaching and learning on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics to students in some carefully selected Federal and State-owned science and technical secondary schools nationwide.

“The aim of STEM is to provide e-Learning facilities through the establishment of a State-of-the-Art Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and modern teaching content, to serve as a one-stop-shop environment for students in public secondary schools to have access to digital and updated learning materials in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, while also developing their ICT skills including the use of the internet for various purposes,” she said.

The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, explained that the STEM project has two components -the setting up of the centres in the selected secondary schools and the training of the teachers in the schools selected.

“While STEM centres are established to give students of secondary schools the opportunity to have practical experience in digital learning platforms, the training component focuses on building the capacity of teachers in secondary schools to significantly enhance learning of STEM which is the foundation of the digital economy.

“The programme is designed to equip and transform STEM teachers to deliver digital literacy through training, mentoring and provision of devices to aid teaching,” she added.

The minister appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for his administration’s determined focus towards the development of young Nigerians in the digital economy, which the STEM project targeted at.

Farouq urged Kano State to make the best use of the equipment, which are to aid modern teaching and learning on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics to students in the digital world of today.

Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Usman Alhaji, commissioned the Northwest STEM project and commended the “foresight” of President Buhari for the programme, urging the school children to concentrate on the learning of science and technology courses.

“The STEM centre will be a source of development, not only to the people of Rano but the entire people of the region,” the governor said.

The Kano State Commissioner for Education, Mr. Muhammed Sa’idu Kiru, assured the “judicious use of the centre” in order to actualise the STEM dream. (THISDAY)

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