Why Gombe Girls Are Left Behind In STEM Education
By Najib Sani, Gombe
Despite improvement in the enrolment of girls in schools in the state, the girl-child lags behind in terms of studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields in Gombe State. These fields which encompass broad range of academic and professional fields that are focused on the study and application of scientific and mathematical principles to develop innovative solutions and technologies, have been witnessing low enrolment by girls in the state.
Our correspondent observed that STEM education and careers are highly valued for their potential to drive innovation, economic growth, and problem-solving in a rapidly changing world.
Moreso, there is advocacy on equal opportunities for women in all fields and aspects in the society in order to bridge the gaps between the different genders, and empower the womenfolk to harness their full potentials.
Several factors have been blamed for lack of progress in girls’ participation in the fields with the major issue identified by my findings to be lack of gender responsive education sector plan in the state, lack of motivation and consideration of the needs of the female students willing to enrol in STEM.
One of the lapses in the state education plan used for years, is that it has not addressed the shortage of female teachers teaching pure sciences, who can encourage girls’ enrolment in the STEM.
According to a data from the state ministry of education made available to our correspondent, total number of teachers teaching physics, chemistry and mathematics in public schools in the state is 484 out of which 98, representing only 20 per cent are females.
The absence of adequate female teachers in the state are not peculiar to sciences alone, but there is generally low female teachers and school administrators that will be mentors to girls in schools.
For instance, there are only nine female principals in the 153 public senior secondary schools in the state, and 6,984 female teachers out of the 18,878 existing teachers.
A female science teacher, a chemistry teacher precisely at Government Day Secondary School (GDSS), Gandu, Comfort Jacob Yusuf, said girls’ participation in sciences compared to boys is in little ratio.
She attributed the development to societal norms that suggest females’ participation in sciences is not needed. This is even as she pointed out that there is inadequate female science teachers in the state.
Using her school as case study, she noted that there is only one female physics teacher and two chemistry female teachers while all the rest are men.
But to Sa’adatu Muhammed Yaya, Vice Principal Academy of Government Day Science Secondary School Gombe, science courses are expensive for girls to enrol due to their economic status, opining that to promote their participation in STEM, government should include award of scholarship to the girl child interested in sciences in the state education sector plan.
The Vice Principal Administration of the school, Hamza Umar, also noted that shortage of female teachers teaching science subjects is one of the factors affecting girls’ enrolment in STEM.
“We have female teachers but not as much as we are expecting. We are still needing more female teachers.
“Most of the females have problems, finding science subjects very difficult for them to comprehend. That is why we normally have problem with some female teachers, we don’t have them much especially in the area of sciences”, he noted.
He said as part of efforts to motivate the girls, the school usually organises seminars to its new students on the importance of sciences and dispelling the notion that science is difficult so that when they graduate, they may decide to proceed in STEM fields in higher institutions.
Though the school teachers said that the number of boys and girls in the school is almost in equal ratio, our correspondent reports that all the female students interviewed in various schools visited on the subject matter, expressed interests in studying medicine and health related courses only and said is the reason they enrolled in science classes.
While none indicated interest in the other applied sciences such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, chemical engineering, architecture, chemistry, physics, environmental science, agriculture, computer science, information technology, artificial intelligence, mathematics, statistics etc.
But a woman activist in the state, Barrister Martha Daniel who is the director legal affairs of the Gombe State Association of NGOs, opined that culture and stigma are the main reasons that subjugate the girls and discourage them from developing passion for STEM.
“To be honest, the disparity is wide. The participation is very low. Science is not for boys and arts for girls. Because that is the standard in most schools. The girls you find in sciences are very few. Those who will even survive to the university, it keeps dropping and dropping.
“There is stigma towards science courses. When a girl wants to go for architecture, they will say no, that course is for boys, or engineering or go for a very core science subject, she is discouraged. Girls have been conditioned to believe that science is for boys”, she lamented.
She advocated a robust sensitisation to girls to have a change of perception and also suggested that the ministry of education should incorporate programmes in the state education sector plan to motivate girls to enrol in STEM.
But in her comments on the subject matter, the state commissioner for education, Aishatu Maigari, said the female participation in sciences is good though she said it is not how they want it to be.
Our correspondent observes that developing a more gender responsive education sector plan that motivates girls interested in STEM fields can enable them harness their full potentials. Also, provision of befitting science laboratories, equipment and other incentives for female science students can promote more girls’ participation in STEM in the state.
