Centre seeks states’ collaboration to sustain arithmetic training
NAN-H-19
Partnership
By Jacinta Nwachukwu/ Uche Bibilari
Abuja, Feb. 13, 2017 (NAN) The National Mathematical Centre (NMC) on Wednesday called for collaboration with the state governments on the ongoing mental arithmetic training organised for students and teachers in the country.
Prof. Stephen Onah, the Director/Chief Executive of the centre, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja, that the training of teachers and students should not be left for the Federal Government alone.
NAN reports that the mental arithmetic training was a way of training students in mathematics using the Chinese abacus.
This training is a pilot programme utilizing funds from Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to him, the essence is to train students and teachers on the easy ways of learning Mathematics, so as to bring back the mental training which had been eroded.
“We are soliciting that the state government should continue the programme after the pilot project.
“We have told them what is involved; we hope they will take over from where we stopped.
“The impact of the training is so enormous on the teachers and students.’’
Onah suggested that states and local governments, as stakeholders, should key into the training.
He urged staff members, who had been trained to assist in training other teachers, who did not have such opportunity.
According to him, the rural teachers need the training most, but with limited fund, there is no way mathematical centre can cover all the schools in the villages.
“There is also the need for the three tiers of government to contribute to the funding of the project,’’ he said.
He said that so far the training has been conducted in 19 states including the FCT.
“We have gone to all the seven states the North-West, the six states in the South-South; we have done for all the six states in the north-central; we are talking of 19 states now plus the FCT,” he said. (NAN)
JIN/UU/AFA
Edited by Felix Ajide