Founder of GetBundi, an educational technology platform, Osita Oparaugo, has urged governments across sub-Saharan Africa to embrace STEM learning considering its economic returns in terms of growth, poverty alleviation and social cohesion.
He spoke on Monday during a virtual conference organised by Wings of Justice Africa, the parent company of GetBundi.
Oparaugo said STEM learning encourages creativity, innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills which are very relevant in the 21-st century world.
These components, he said, prepare developing economies to compete in the global market.
Addressing proprietors of private schools in Africa at the event with the theme: “The secondary education system faces challenges in balancing access, quality and equity”, Oparaugo acknowledged that sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has made significant progress in secondary school enrolment—from an overall net enrolment rate of 11% in 1970 to 32% and 22% for lower and upper secondary, respectively, in 2018, according to UNICEF 2019 report.
He, however, observed that most of that increase happened in liberal arts and not science and technology.