Kenya hosts Africa’s Mathematics / Science Education Congress

Sep 21, 2023 - 11:09

Posing for a group photo: Seated from Right: Ms. Ngina Kairu, Member, CEMASTEA Board of Governors Mr. Charles Chacha Mwita, Director Policy, Partnership, and East Africa Cooperation Affairs, Ministry of Education (MoE), Kenya; Representative of LEGO Foundation, Ms. Cecilia Ochoa; Mrs. Jacinta L. Akatsa (center in a grey skirt suit)) CEO, CEMASTEA, and Representative of the Principal Secretary, State Department of Basic Education, MOE – Kenya among other participants.

Naivasha,

Thursday, September 21, 2023

KNA by Mabel Keya-Shikuku

Some 17 African countries are converging in Naivasha for a weeklong strategic planning meeting on how to implement Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education at the country level as well as advocate for continental performance monitoring and evaluation framework.

The indicators of the performance will be aligned with country-level outcomes on STEM education.

The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Albert Nsengiyumva from Ivory Coast said the aim of the conference was to see how the member countries can develop curriculums that are market-specific in the face of increasing joblessness for many African youths who come out of school.

“Africa now needs an education system that is responsive to emerging needs in the job market and equips the youth with skills that can make them job creators instead of waiting or being employed,” Nsengiyumva said.

While emphasizing the importance of technology in imparting this education, Nsengiyumva hailed Kenya for the reforms she has implemented in the education sector saying, they were worth emulating with situational analysis on the status of play-based STEM education in primary schools showing that will reduce dependency in import consumptions.

Nsengiyumva was speaking in Naivasha Wednesday during the ongoing meeting for the Secretariat for the Association for Development of Education in Africa’s Inter-Country Quality Node on Mathematics and Science Education (ADEA-ICQN-MSE).

This Pan-African conference is aimed at fostering unilateral development in the member countries. It’s hosted by the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA).

ADEA seeks to empower African countries to develop responsive education systems for sustainable development. The organization achieves these aspirations through thematic-based Inter-Country Quality Nodes (ICQNs) such as the one on Mathematics and Science Education, (ICQN-MSE).

The ICQN-MSE conducted some studies on the status of STEM education which included a situational analysis on the status of play-based STEM education in primary schools in Africa, (2022 – 2023) and the Status of STEM education in secondary school level in Africa, (2020-2021).

Through these studies, the ICQN-MSE has developed several tools to guide countries in designing interventions that enhance the development of STEM education at the national level: A draft strategic framework to guide country-based activities in developing STEM education at the basic learning level and a draft STEM toolkit to advance knowledge on integration of STEM education, play, and technology in Africa.

This conference or congress is therefore intended to bring together delegates from countries that participated in the two studies to review the study reports, develop the Strategic Framework for the ICQN-MSE and discuss the STEM toolkit aimed at achieving a shared vision on developing STEM education in Africa, Encourage countries to design policies that deliberately govern the development of STEM education and advance strategic steps to implement STEM education at country level.

It’s also intended to advocate for continental performance monitoring and evaluation framework with indicators that are aligned to country level outcomes on STEM education.

The workshop participants include; senior Ministry of Education officials from either the headquarters or regional levels, heads of either primary or secondary schools, teacher trainers, teachers of STEM subjects, national curriculum development officers, national examination officers, commissions for science and technology, and quality assurance officers.

The participating countries who also took part in two aforementioned studies include; Botswana, Rwanda (primary study), South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Angola and Morocco (Secondary study). Other participants are; Eswatini, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Senegal and Malawi.

Courtesy; KNA