EKOEXCEL Commends Women, Girls In Science ... As Pupils Declare Interest In Science, Hail Impact

Victoria Ojugbana, Lagos

Female beneficiaries of EKOEXCEL, an initiative to transform public education using innovative technology, have hailed the power of science and affirmed their interests in becoming scientists.

The pupils spoke as the world marks the 2022 International Day of Women and Girls in Science today (February 11).

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This year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, first marked in 2015, is themed: “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Water Unites Us,” in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Six of ensuring access to water and sanitation for all.

Speaking about their love for science, the pupils all hailed its transformational impacts and benefits to humanity.

Righteousness Amarachi, a nine-year-old Basic 4 Pupil of Methodist Primary School, Ikorodu, said: “I am a lover of science because I get to learn all I need to know. I would love to be a teacher of science. Science is the best thing human beings have ever come up with. And if it isn’t right, science will fix it”, Amarachi said.

Abigail Ajayi, a 10-year-old primary five pupil of the same school, spoke similarly. She said: “I love science because it has brought about advancement in technology in diverse ways. Science is the lifeblood of the future, and I’m proud to be a girl that loves science,” Ajayi said.

Also speaking on her preference for science, 11-year-old Sofia Ochapa, primary 5 pupils of Apelehin-SH-LA, disclosed: “I enjoy solving mathematics a lot, it is challenging to me. I like science subjects, particularly basic science because I would like to be a doctor in future to save the lives of poor people”, Ochapa said.

Sarah Okpor and Salimat Ibrahim, both pupils of Dairy Farm Nursery and Primary School, Agege, similarly hailed the impacts of science. Okpor said, “I love science because science is a way of life, and science is life.” In contrast, Ibrahim said, “I love mathematics and calculations because the accountant is the bedrock of a nation.”

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science aims to amplify the critical role women and girls can play in science and technology.

It also promotes equal opportunities as women remain underrepresented among senior scientists in academia and leadership positions in the workplace. A 2021 UNESCO Science

The report showed that they are awarded less research funding than men and are less likely to be promoted. In the private sector, too, women are less present in company leadership and technical roles in tech industries.

The lack of equal opportunities in the workplace is driving women out of research professions.

Commendably, Nigerian female scientists, including Director-General of the National Agency for Food & Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Moji Adeyeye, Pioneer Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnership at the University of Ibadan, Professor Nike Adeyemo and eminent parasitologist and first female president of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Professor Ekanem Ikpi Braide, among others, have continued to inspire female pupils.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu launched the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board’s (LASUBEB) EKOEXCEL in 2019 to provide quality education to both the rich and the poor and upskill teachers leveraging technology. So far, over 18,000 headteachers and teachers have been moved from analogue to digital teaching, using tablets and updated curricula. Over 14,000 primary school teachers from 1,017 public primary schools have been captured under the scheme.

The education reform programme has also recorded remarkable gains in enhancing the teacher-pupil interaction experience through technology (eLearning) in Lagos State primary schools. The intervention has also boosted uniformity and strict adherence to the curriculum, with teachers’ tablets preloaded with lessons and content that can be effectively monitored for standardisation across all of Lagos’ 1,017 public primary schools.

Highlighting EKOEXCEL’s efforts to promote inclusive education for all genders and encourage female interest in science, LASUBEB’s Executive Chairman, Hon. Wahab Alawiye-King disclosed that the initiative gives them equal opportunities like their male counterparts.

He said, “EKOEXCEL harnesses innovation and science to improve both pupils and teachers in Lagos’ public schools, so encouraging females to study science is a priority to us. Nigerian female amazons have recorded great strides in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and we want to produce more from Lagos public schools.”Alawiye-King further promised that EKOEXCEL would continue to create an enabling environment for the female pupils and that they won’t be discouraged from following their interests.