Agency rolls out plan to mentor learners on STEM subjects

The Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) has rolled out a mentorship and outreach programme to schools to motivate learners to excel in Science, Technology Education and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Through the initiative, the State Corporation also aims to empower teachers across the country to deliver on the subjects at the same time spark interest in learners to support the government’s development and industrialization agenda.

CEMASTEA National Trainer Martin Mungai said through working with teachers, the State Corporation domiciled in the Ministry of Education had identified gaps in teaching methodologies adding that through the outreach program, teachers were being exposed to various models and resources that can be used to teach the subjects.

The models, he added, have been designed to simplify various concepts in Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, robotics and coding, Climate Change and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to regenerate interest amongst learners.

CEMASTEA, he said, was empowering teachers with skills to use locally available resources to develop the models to aid in practical learning.

“We realized that the biggest challenge was the lack of a practical approach to teaching STEM subjects. We are therefore demonstrating how teachers can use locally available resources to teach a concept in a very practical manner,” he said.

The goal, he added, was to renew interest in the subjects through demonstrating their importance to students with a view to encouraging as many students as possible to pursue them.

“As a country we may not have an opportunity to advance as fast as countries in the west if we do not embrace STEM subjects. So, there is a need to continually encourage our learners to show them the importance of STEM in the development of the country,” he said.

Speaking during one of the outreach activities at Ken Obura Secondary School in Kisumu, Mungai said the hands-on activities with students will enable teachers to unpack concepts in easy and practical ways.

“We are trying to connect what they are learning in class to the outside world and the opportunities available if they take up these subjects,” he said.

CEMASTEA, he disclosed targets to reach at least 50 schools across the country this financial year expressing optimism that the outreach programme will have a ripple effect on performance in the subjects.