The Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Education in Lagos State received a boost with a partnership/collaboration of the Lagos State Ministry of Education and the Smithsonian Museum Science Institute, USA. The collaborative efforts are aimed at driving education reforms through the goals STEM education would avail.

This was made known by the Honourable Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo in her office at the Secretariat Alausa on Tuesday.

The Commissioner revealed that the Smithsonian Museum Science Institute offered a generous grant to have officers from the Ministry involved in curriculum improvement to participate in their annual intensive week-long institute training which is held every July. She said the annual event is a forum where teams of educators, administrators and stakeholders from across the world converge to gain an in-depth understanding of the Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) model and apply it to strategic planning for their varied communities.

According to Mrs. Adefisayo, “With the challenges and demands of a technology-driven economy in the very-near future, the State needs to place an elevated importance on STEM Education by creating a steady pipeline of skilled personnel to meet these demands as it remains germane for the actualization of the ‘smart city’.”

She revealed that the Smithsonian Museum Science institute is a renowned group of museums and research centers administered by the government of United States institute which was established as far back in 1846 and was a learning institution concerned with enhancing science. “The Smithsonian Education Center’s (SSEC) mission is to transform and improve the learning and teaching of science for Primary and Secondary school students. Their work is centered on the establishment of effective science programs for all students and by actualizing that goal, the SSEC creates awareness for K-12 science education reform among State and District leaders, through their programmes that lead to the professional development of teachers and administrators. The educational mission of the Smithsonian Education Centre has been a global drive towards attaining research and curriculum development transformation through their teaching and learning of science.” She added.

“The SSEC have had widespread impact through their support of schools, Districts, States, and Ministries of Education all across the 50 States of the United States and 43 nations through theirs proven Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) model, which they have proven through data & vast experience to lead to higher student achievement in science and improved science teaching and learning” The Commissioner further disclosed.

She therefore stressed that, “Working on driving the infusion of the STEM teaching and learning methodology in the basic educational curriculum of Lagos State to encourage students to become innovators and problem-solvers instead of becoming sole consumers of knowledge remains crucial if we must prepare the students for the future”. Adding that, “We also should ensure that our State is a stem literate-society that would produce a crop of intellectually enhanced students who will grow to contribute meaningfully towards the development of their communities, corporate firms and the economy at large.”

An elated Adefisayo reiterated that the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu remains firmly committed to innovatively ensure that the quality of Education is pushed to an enviable world class standard and the collaboration with Smithsonian Museum Science institute was a welcome intervention towards the development of Science as well as capacity building for in-Persons leadership development in the State. She noted that setting up Stem Education was necessitated to integrate STEM into the curriculum while the infusion of Education and Technology was a catalyst for overseeing the operation or implementation of Stem practices in the classroom.

Still on the training, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on STEM Education, Ms. Adetola Salau; an engineer and a STEM certified Expert in STEM pedagogy, stated that due to the advent of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the week-long convening was shifted to a fully virtual leadership development event in July, 2020. She revealed that the program was a series of live and asynchronous meeting. She emphasized that during the training individuals and teams were to tackle the challenge of ensuring Science Education remains a critical component of their classrooms and contexts even during this challenging period.

“Participants attended sessions on hot topics including social emotional learning, equity, and accessibility. Through the days of attendance, the participants were to develop and share action plans to articulate their strategies for facilitating nontraditional learning experiences in their communities. The same grant from the in-person program was extended to the Lagos State Ministry of Education team for inclusion in the virtual workshop.” She concluded.

Kayode Abayomi
Head, Public Affairs
Ministry of Education
25th August, 2020