Even though all signs pointed to STEM education as the future, Participants in a roundtable discussion on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education believe that the arts could still significantly shape the world’s future.
These panelists have called for promoting and investing in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education.
“We are all aware that STEM education is the way to go, but we still need the Arts to teach our young people how to collaborate and live with each other as a human society and that is what the Arts bring on board,” they said.
The discussion was organised by The Yamoransa Model (YM) Labs Programme, funded by the Helping Africa Foundation (HAF), as part of its second Annual Impact Roundtable Discussion (AIRTAD ’23) and robotics competition.
Managed by IMPLEMENTERS, a non-profit organisation, the event was on the theme: “The YM labs programme – Building an inclusive and sustainable STEAM education for the future.”
Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director of HAF, added that STEAM education is critical to achieving sustainable development in the country.
He explained that because of its interdisciplinary model, which incorporates various forms of Arts disciplines such as the humanities and actual art, such as painting, children’s minds would be opened enough to learn and do anything.
The Project Director of IMPLEMENTERS and YM Labs Programme, Kafui Prebbie, maintained that the arts were equally as important as the maths and science because they offered the human mind a level of emotional intelligence, which was necessary to create a balanced world.
The Associate Vice Chancellor of International Affairs of the University of Colorado, Alana C. Jones, also noted that although women participation in STEM fields had grown from less than 10 per cent to a little under 30 per cent over the last five decades, there was still much left to be done.
