BY DAYO ADESULU & TARE YOUDEOWEI

FORMER Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, Professor Peter Okebukola, has lamented the misplaced goals in science education in Nigeria, heaping the blame at the doorsteps of the government, teachers and students.

He queried the quality of science education delivered by teachers to over 42 million children in public and private basic education schools, to over 15 million in secondary schools and about 2.3 million higher education students. In the professor’s assertion, the over 62 million Nigerian children in school could transform this country into a developed country if adequate attention is given to science and technology.

Okebukola, while delivering a lecture on Delivery of Science Education in Nigeria: Putting the Shoe on the Right Foot’ at the 19th annual lecture of Stephen Awokoya Foundation for Science Education held at the Muson Centre, Lagos said: “We can re-calibrate, get our priorities right and set a course that will ensure that Nigeria derives the great benefit from science and technology.”

The professor described how science education was in the past, where it is now, and the way forward. He pointed out five factors responsible for the decline in the teaching and learning of science in schools. They include the subject, the learner as a barrier, the learning environment, culture as a barrier and the science teacher as a barrier.

On science subjects as a barrier, he said: “It is a commonly held view among students that science is difficult to learn. This point of view is reflected when students are to make choices. Few students elect to study science subjects when compared with the arts. It is also a widely received view that it is easier for a science graduate later to pick up expertise in a non-science subject than vice versa.”

Secondly, he said, “The learner can also be a barrier to science education. Readiness, motivation, cognitive preference orientation and general attitude to work are some attributes of the learner that pose barriers to meaningful learning of science.”

He said that many Nigerian children at the primary and secondary levels are not cognitively ready for the type of science that teachers present. Okebukola who scored the motivation level of many Nigerian students for the study of science low, disclosed that this low level of motivation could be seen to be a barrier to meaningful science education. “Ask many science teachers and they will tell you how lazy their students are. Cases of refusal to do assignments and come to class are plenty,” he added.

The learning environment, he noted, could act as a barrier to science education. According to him, the science laboratories are far from being equipped for meaningful science teaching and learning, adding that even the classrooms are poorly equipped. “Over-populated classrooms are common place. The shoddy classroom settings – roof, and scanty furniture in many cases, are far from enabling in promoting meaningful learning,” he said.

On culture as a barrier, he said: “Culture barriers as identified in our studies are superstitions and taboos, authoritarianism, and societal expectations of affluence. These factors, he maintained, have emerged over the years to impede the access, participation and performance of students, especially girls in science.

The last hindrance as identified by Professor Okebukola is the science teachers. He reiterated that the science teacher constitutes, in a number of ways, a barrier to the meaningful science education, adding that the hindrance is not deliberate since the teacher is employed to facilitate learning.

According to him, these hindrances are manifested in the poor preparation of science teachers, low level of motivation and high level of stress in the work environment.

To reduce and eventually eliminate the barriers facing science education, Okebukola proffered remedies which are bench-marked with practices in Germany, Israel, Japan, USA, Finland, South Korea and China – countries acclaimed as the best in science and technology globally. Stating that it should not be left entirely to the government, he asserted that parents, students, teachers and the media have key roles to play. The curriculum, policy and research were not left out.

On basic science curriculum in Nigeria, Okebukola said “though well intentioned, it is spawned too much around traditional science concepts rather than on process skills. Process skills enable learners gain practical understanding of how a scientist works.

Observing, experimenting, manipulating variables and predicting are some of the 16 major process skills needed.” He advised that “having the shoe on the right foot will mean increasing the proportion of allotment to process skills development in the curriculum relative to the load of content in theoretical topics.”

For parents, the advice was to have children revise school work as opposed to playing around, as opportunity to learn science at home is a major variable in students’ performance.

His words: “Parents should provide opportunities for their children and wards to revise their science lessons and encourage them to carry out projects that are science and technology-related.

Children should be encouraged to spend more time with neighbouring technical workmen in radio, TV, GSM and computer repair workshops and visit nearby industries.”

On television viewing, he advised that parents should steer children to channels that can kindle and sustain their interest in science such as Discovery, Animal Planet and Learn.

Reportage of science and technology

More reportage of science and technology in the media and interspersing of musical shows with interesting stories of science and technology, was Okebukola’s suggestion to the media.

He proffered that teachers should be trained to make 180-degree switch from chalkboard science to hands-on science, that is practicals, investigations, problem-solving and experimentation.

He said: “Science jokes can be said, humor can be infused, analogies, drama and metaphors can be used to teach science to keep students interested.”

Professor Okebukola mentioned that science teachers need in-service training. They could also employ the use of charts, virtual libraries and laboratories, and even invite guest teachers to teach subjects they have relatively lower familiarity with.

Okebukola stated that policies should be implemented  to help the improvement of science education. To this end, he stated that all science teachers should be re-certified every five years. Modern methods of research should be carried out in order to update the body of science available to teachers and students.