More women should be in STEM

May 02, 2017 News

– UN report accentuates

The 2016 United Nations (UN) Human Development Report on enhancing opportunities for woman has accentuated that more woman should be in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, (STEM) where much future demand for high-level jobs will be.
The report advises that increasing women’s enrolment in tertiary education and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics requires such incentives as scholarships, admission quotas and internships with research institutions and technology firms.
According to research, jobs of tomorrow will continue to demand critical thinking and an understanding of mathematics and science to keep pace with the increasing dynamism of technological innovation. While the focus on this issue may be dominated by the availability of infrastructure, large gains can be made by sowing the seeds of early STEM programmes at the nursery and primary levels.
President David Granger has re-emphasized the importance of STEM in the economic development of the country. During a broadcast of the ‘Public Interest’ the Head of State had highlighted the need for engineers, scientists and mathematicians.
The President had explained that the biggest obstruction towards development in Guyana is the lack of infrastructure and that the country needs a system of highways, bridges and stellings.
”If you look at Region Ten, for example, just to travel from Kwakwani to Linden to transact business, it’s a nightmare. If you are in Region Nine, the Rupununi, it takes $5000 to go one way between Aishalton and Lethem. If your grandfather has 1 hectare of cassava and he produces 100kilos, science would help you to get 200kilos from the same hectare by better fertilizers and better techniques,” President Granger had posited.
In continuing his commitment to STEM, last December President Granger handed over $1M to the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in support of the initiative.
Last month, over three dozen teachers from schools along the East Coast of Demerara were introduced to a National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) Mathematics digital application.
The App was created by Information Technology (IT) Technician and coordinator, Ms. Karen Abrams, and is equipped with past examination papers and worksheets to improve children’s performance in Mathematics.
Furthermore, the report stated that creating opportunities for women also requires women’s empowerment in the economic, political and cultural spheres.
”Investing in girls and women has multidimensional benefits — for example, if all girls in developing countries completed secondary education, the under-five mortality rate would be halved. As more girls finish primary and secondary education, they can carry on to higher education, enabling them to do the work of the future and move up the career ladder,” the report noted.

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