Centre urges states to embrace Mathematical Improvement Project
NAN-H-64
Mathematics
Monday Ijeh/Jacinta Nwachukwu
Abuja, April 13, 2017 (NAN) Prof. Stephen Onah, the Chief Executive, National Mathematical Centre (NMC) has called on state governments to embrace the Mathematical Improvement Project (MIP) initiative of the centre to improve students’ performance in mathematics.
Onah, who made the call on Thursday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the initiative was developed to address poor performance in mathematics among students.
He said the initiative, designed to run for two years was expected to be implemented in collaboration with state governments.
The chief executive, who said the initiative had been experimented in some states, expressed dismay over the attitude of some state governments toward it.
“Students’ performance in mathematics for states that have embraced the initiative has been fantastic with schools initially scoring 20 per cent before adopting the initiative scoring over 70 per cent.
“We have been going round to appeal to states to embrace the project so that this problem of poor performance will be a thing of the past,” he said.
Onah blamed students’ poor performance in mathematics in public examination on lack of motivation as well as inadequate number of teachers to handle the subject in schools.
According to him, because there are no enough hands to teach students, every person from any area, some from places not even in the science based areas are brought in to teach mathematics.
He said organisers of external examinations, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) would not lower their standards because Nigeria had no enough teachers.
(NAN)
IMC/HS/AFA
Edited by Halima Sheji/ Felix Ajide