Calls persist to have more girls pursue STEM courses
Coming from a humble beginning at Oraimutia Primary School in Oljororok, Nyahururu, Nakuru County, Dorcas Wanjiku, 22, cannot help, but be grateful for her journey in education, that has seen her secure a place in a prestigious university in the country.
Wanjiku sat for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2014 and scored 400 out of the possible 500 marks. However, she had no hopes of continuing with her education for lack of school fees, until luck came knocking at her door. She got a full sponsorship through the Wings to Fly programme by Equity Foundation, which enabled her to enroll at Karima Girls High School.
“I was so elated by the opportunity to have my secondary education fully catered for. I knew that my dreams to pursue a science course was slowly coming to pass,” she says.
Four years later, she scored an A- (minus) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), whhich qualified her to pursue a Bachelor of Science (BSC) in Mining and Mineral Processing Engineering, in which geology in hydrology is one of the key units to specialise in the course of study.
“I really wanted to pursue a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) course. From when I was a young girl, I was fascinated by how people see problems in situations and come up with a scientific solution,” narrates the second-year student.
Her interest was further stamped during an Equity Leadership Programme (ELP) before she joined the university, where she had the opportunity to interact with various professionals, including ladies who had specialised in STEM courses.
At JKUAT, Wanjiku says that only six out of the 23 students in her class are girls, admitting that it has not been easy pursuing a male-dominated career. “When you tell other students in campus that you are pursuing a science course, they start treating you different. Lke you don’t fit in their circles. I still don’t know why people who work in STEM careers are regarded as being “nerdy” or socially awkward,” she says.
She says there is need for Kenya to keep recognising girls who study STEM courses as a way of encouraging more to join the field.
One of the latest projects that has excited her is understanding recent floods plaguing South Africa. Large parts of the country have been soaked by unprecedented rain, causing floods and crop damage. “STEM courses are not difficult, it is just a perception. It is exciting, because you have the opportunity to change the world through innovations, and the satisfaction that comes with developing a solutionto a problem is great. More girls should join us in this,” she says.
Wanjiku is part of few women in Kenya, who have taken STEM courses with utmost courage and she is content with her move.
Statistics from Unesco indicate that globally, only 35 per cent of STEM students in higher education are women.
Alarming disparity
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) studies show that only three per cent of female students in higher education choose information and communication technology (ICT) studies. “This gender disparity is alarming, especially as STEM careers are often referred to as the jobs of the future, driving innovation, social wellbeing, inclusive growth and sustainable development,” Unesco said while observing this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGS).
It is against this backdrop that more women and girls are encouraged to also interest themselves in science. “Empowering girls and women to enter STEM fields of study and careers, and stay the course, is an imperative. This requires holistic and integrated responses from each across sectors and engage girls and women in identifying solutions to persistent challenges,” Unesco adds.
Kenya National Commission (KNATCOM) for Unesco Secretary General and CEO, Dr Evangeline Njoka says that underrepresentation of one gender in science is not only detrimental to scientific progress, but is also a major impediment to social economic development of any country. “KNATCOM acknowledges there are gender disparities in science, but also recognises that women who have pursued the STEM pathway have made tremendous contribution to science. Sustainable economic transformation can only occur if there is inclusivity in the innovation ecosystem,” she said recently during marking of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGS) recently.
Although enrollment of girls in universities has increased over the years, Njoka says that Physical Sciences, Engineering, Geological Sciences and Mathematics are still a male dominated territory while girls are mainly in business and social sciences.
She says few women in STEM courses translate into fewer female scientists, technologists, engineers and innovators. “There is need to encourage more women working in this field to come together and bring in more perspectives, talent and creativity, but more importantly to inspire upcoming women professionals to pursue their career aspirations in science,” she says.
To improve STEM uptake for girls, she says that KNATCOM, the Ministry of Education, Unesco and National Commission for Science, Technology an Innovation (NACOSTI) and other partners have been conducting camps for secondary school students where girls are coached.
Education Principal Secretary, Dr Julius Jwan says the country has recognised that STEM education is a key driver in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Vision 2030 and other strategies of improving quality of education.
Gender equity and equality in education, he says, is a major concern in many countries because of its significance in socio-economic and political development and Kenya has joined other countries to sign international conventions to address the negative impact. “The ministry works to reduce gender inequalities and to promote equal participation of women and men as decision makers in shaping education policies and practices. Choosing one’s path in life should not be limited by prejudice,” says Jwan.
The PS says the gender parity in the primary subsector is at 0.97 per cent, which means girls and boys are almost at per in most counties.He says the Government has also put in place interventions targeting girls for purposes of education gender disparity, including establishing boarding schools, especially in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and school feeding programmes.
Closing the gap
Last year for instance, Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam saw at least 370,000 girls sit the Mathematics paper and the mean score was 17 per cent compared to 380,000 boys whose mean score was 21 per cent.
In Physics, 70,000 girls who sat the paper scored a mean score of 35 per cent compared to 36 per cent for boys while in Chemistry, 367,000 girls scored a mean score of 22 per cent against 24 per cent for boys. “We are happy with interventions being done in the sector by various partners to promote STEM,” he said.
The Ministry of Education also says that it offers scholarships to women in STEM whenever they are available, owing to the fact that there is a huge gap in women participation.
