The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board claim to have worked together to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) curricula in secondary schools across the nation, with a particular emphasis on the girl child.
It revealed in a statement that the collaboration with the association was established at St. Jude’s Girls Secondary School Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, as part of the “STEM-it-out-4girls” programme with the focus on “Interest and proficiency in STEM.”
Simbi Wabote, the executive secretary of the NCDMB, was represented by Deputy Manager of the Capacity Development Division, Mofe Megbele, who emphasised the board’s willingness to work with the organisation to implement programmes and policies that support the capacity development of women.
He cited Section 70(n) of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, which authorises the board to hold training sessions and workshops to advance the creation of Indigenous content.
According to him, “There is no local content without human capacity development and there has been significant growth achieved through the implementation of the 10-year strategic roadmaps for the oil and gas industry to accelerate the attainment of 70 percent Nigerian Content by 2027.”
He continued by saying that the value of educating young females in society cannot be overstated and that progress for the nation depends on how well-educated young ladies are.
An educated girl kid, he continued, could tackle the problems that humanity faces in the twenty-first century, including peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, food supply, and environmental concerns.
While praising the organisation, the executive secretary gave the assurance that the board would continue to support, monitor, and analyse the development and performances of the female students who benefited from the STEM programme and competition.
Elizabeth Eterigho, President of APWEN, also spoke. “The training is targeted at increasing awareness on engineering as a suitable career for girls, to improve the numerical strength of female engineers in Nigeria; It also provides the girl child with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the rapidly changing world.”
