INTRODUCTION
THE assertion that STEM education is the irrevocable asset for Economic Transformation is no longer a debatable issue. It is the reality of our time. The world has now reawakened to this truth. The challenge for most nations is how to make STEM education the axis upon which educaton reform revolves.
Nations that will lag behind in putting STEM education at the forefront of educational development will have themselves to blame when all what they hope to achieve in their economic transformation efforts fail lamentably.
The liberal general education paradigm has brought our country this far. We now clearly know its shortcomings in relation to economic transformation. The 21st century and its dictate of the Fourth Industrial Revolution calls for EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS TO BE STEM AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY COMPLIANT.
PRE REQUISITES TO STEM EDUCATION
Achieving effective education reform that places STEM education at the forefront needs two cardinal pre requisites. First, there is need to spell out in no uncertain terms the kind of Zambia we want for ourselves.
The African Union has spelt out the Africa we want in Agenda 2063. Second, attention must be clearly given to the kind of economic transformation that is needed to realise the type of Zambia that is desired. Once these two preconditions are met it will then be easier to embark on the education reforms that will place STEM education as the bedrock of educational development.
The kind of society Zambians want was discussed in greater detail in two articles which appeared in this paper namely: HAPPINESS FOR MOST PEOPLE: THE GOAL OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP and CHANGE AND CONTINUITY IN ZAMBIA’S ASPIRATIONS FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
The key principle is how to achieve the greatest happiness for most people. Those with economic analytical minds can come up with the type of Economic Transformation Zambia has to undergo to achieve the greatest happiness for most people.
Whichever direction it takes, economic transformation in Zambia has to address the following pertinent issues: diversification of the economy, lopsided structural dependency by the large majority of people on subsistence agriculture and the informal sector, high unemployment levels among the youth, low skill and low productivity levels in all the key economic sectors, non existent capacity for innovation, low capacity for entrepreneurship, low capacity for exploitation of the available abundant natural resources, low value addition to products, low competitive advantage in international trade.
These economic challenges requiring transformation need mindset change and heavy investments in the development of critical skills of the people to make it happen as the Africa Capacity Building Foundation observed in the following statement:
.”…required is a serious engagement and dialogue among academia, the private sector and governments to ensure that Africa’s institutions of higher learning educate Africa’s youth to solve Africa’s problems. Also required are ….massive investment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)…”
Bold decisions have to be taken at this time to pave the way for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to play its role as a catalyst of economic transformation. The following steps are flanked for serious consideration by political leaders:
1. NATIONAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ABOUT STEM EDUCATION
Reforming the entire education system from primary to university level including its mission, and management system to embrace STEM education is a national assignment. It is a national campaign about the value of STEM education and why the nation should as a matter of urgency embrace it. The debate should be in various institutions, communities and at family level.
Raising awareness about the value of STEM education and the need to support it at family level and in all institutions including employers is the goal. The awareness campaign is to develop a national ethic about STEM education.
Such awareness will raise the necessary conscience about what STEM education at all levels is among the learners, family, community and society at large. What STEM education is and its benefits were
discussed in detail in the previous article.
2. TERTIARY EDUCATION
Most of the tertiary education institutions are a post-independence creation in Zambia. They were established within the context of the manpower development paradigm. Very little attention was given to the transformative role of tertiary education.
The focus was on meeting the quantitative needs of educated manpower such as teachers, medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, economists etc.
Being the apex of the education pyramid, tertiary education is expected to be the stage of total refinement of the critical skills and mindset changes developed in the lower education levels.
Tertiary education is the architect and shoulder that carries societies’ transformation in all its dimensions. Graduates from tertiary education are expected to demonstrate higher refinements of such skills as creative and critical thinking, innovativeness, imagination, entrepreneurship skills, problem-solving capacities, and the generation of new ideas through research.
These are the expected outcomes of STEM education. However graduates of tertiary education are said to be far from demonstrating such skills. They are products of the examination-centred education model which is deeply rooted in the display of knowledge acquired during examinations.
Putting STEM education at the centre of tertiary education will require a complete overhaul of the curricula at this level. The institutions will have to forego some academic programmes and allow more entry
in STEM-related fields of study.
The guiding principle should be the value of each academic programme to the economic transformation the society needs. Staff have to rethink about their academic programmes in relation to their contribution to economic transformation.
Honest answers will have to be given to the following questions: What is being taught? How is the teaching conducted? What are the expected outcomes to the individual learner and ultimately the society? Which critical skills for economic transformation are in the academic study programme?
For tertiary education to play its role as an agent of economic transformation, universities, colleges and other institutions have to be reformed to focus on them being centres of creativity, critical thinking, imagination, research, collaborative learning, innovation, entrepreneurship and problem-solving.
The mindset of the managers of tertiary education institutions, the staff and students have to change and embrace this academic culture which is necessary for economic transformation. Policy makers and oversight institutions for tertiary education have to put in place systems of periodic evaluation of the institutions.
Of equal importance is putting in place competitive funding mechanisms for rewarding institutions that are doing well on set criteria of being leaders in tertiary education for economic transformation.
2 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
These levels of education are the formative stages of the teaching and learning process. STEM education should start at the primary level and consolidated at the secondary level.
Learners at these levels of education are in their formative stages of development. Like children elsewhere they have common characteristics namely: curiosity, imagination, innovation, entrepreneurship, inquisitiveness, collaborative relationships, discovery, and intrinsic satisfaction. These are the natural characteristics of children.
STEM education can start right from the day the child begins primary education. The natural characteristics of children are fertile grounds upon which to develop the critical skills and mindset of STEM education.
The benefits of STEM can best be enhanced by the inclusion of the Arts namely Music, Athletics, Literal Arts, Performing Arts, Fashion and Designing,
Drawing, Handicraft, Painting, Cookery to mention but a few.
The Arts have the power of bringing in children their imagination, creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and critical thinking which are critical skills in STEM education.
STEM education at primary and secondary levels calls for a review of the curricula at these stages of education. With exception of selected core subjects, there is need for a diversity of choice of subjects for the learners especially in the Arts subjects.
Equally, the subjects which are set for choice can be learner specific and tailored to the local culture and environment. What is important are the critical skills the learner is acquiring. Schools can tap into the skills and knowledge which is available in the local community.
School-based assessments of each individual learner is an important requirement in STEM education. Parents, Teachers, Learners and School Managers have to appreciate that percentage marks scored on tests do not tell how well the child is doing on set skills like creativity, innovation, collaboration, critical thinking, entrepreneurship etc.
These critical skills including the mindset change can best be captured in the assessments of the Individual learner.
CONCLUSION
STEM education is not easy to implement. It requires a strong political will and commitment to bring about education change that will significantly and positively impact on economic transformation.
The education budget has to be raised to meet the demands for increased infrastructure, laboratories, equipment and staffing levels. The teachers’ workloads will inevitably increase because of the demands of new methodologies and continuous assessments of the learners especially at the primary and secondary levels. The current examination system at Grade 7 level has to be revisited with a possibility of doing away with it.
Because of the value of STEM education, all learners should have an opportunity of completing the first nine years of schooling and where possible proceed up to Grade 12. STEM education should ultimately lead to EDUCATION FOR ALL children from primary level to the end of secondary school. Because of the important role of tertiary education to economic transformation, student admission to institutions at this level will have to be increased.
Ends.
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