For a long time I haven’t had a student who
wanted to study science. I actually try
to push the subject when counselling new students, unfortunately their mind is
set on few disciplines mainly IT, Business, and communication studies.
Science is taught very well at our schools,
but that is where it all stops. Only
those that want to study in medical fields do continue, but there is more to
our scientific lives than the human body.
The animals, plants and space are worthy of studying as it all influence
our lives one way or the other.
On the other hand, do you ever wonder why most employers prefer to
hire westerners for jobs that we equally can do?? It’s because of our
training. In our schools we follow the
curriculum with no insistence on any type of research or any competition. In
western countries most children have a criteria embedded in their teaching,
this criteria relates to research. Every
student has to visit the library at least once a week to do an assignment. With
the advent of internet facilities students search for materials that cover
their topics. These materials are either
within what they have been taught or outside it. The research capabilities that the students
acquire from little-hood enable them to excel in life.
Students also register
for international competitions in both sciences and mathematics. The University of New South Wales examinations is one of
these examinations that come to mind as my children had to take them starting
from year five. The exams are run for
any child that has an aptitude for science and math, and the results can either
be a distinction, a merit or participation.
Thus the children are screened at an early age and are followed up and
encouraged to become a scientist or mathematicians. Hence the difference
between us and westerners, and the main reason for employers to hire them and
not us.
This brings me to the
subject of today’s article, Science and Math.
I wonder, at times,
who is training our scientists and our mathematicians. How far do we allow our
children to aspire to become scientists? Look around all our universities and
you will find excellent IT and business faculties, but we are still short on
science and math’s faculties. Did we
omit them from our universities for a reason? Or are we saying that our
ancestors are good merchants and that is all we want our future generations to
be. Are we saying that we have to
continue to be consumers of first world’s products? Are we saying that we can
never have a Noble prize winner in our community?
Food for thought only!!
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