Girls are on the right trajectory of excelling in STEM courses after they emerged the best in Maths contest that brought together schools in Embu County. Dr Kawira Millien, the Dean School of Pure and Applied Sciences in the University of Embu said that she was impressed that the girls were coming up from the sample of schools in Embu County and expressed confidence they are on the right path of excelling in STEM courses. The girls drawn from various schools in Embu County outshone the boys in a Mathematics contest held at the University of Embu. Dr Kawira said that the county education sector has a big assignment of ensuring that the performance of the boy child is improved. ‘The boys are an important aspect of our learning and teaching and the indication of today, calls us to seriously get on the ground and get the boy child on board,’ she said adding that elaborate mechanisms have to be put in place by education stakeholders in the county so as to ensure that there is equity in the performance of mathematics for both the girl and boy child. Kawira added that the performance of boys in Mathematics has to be checked because Mathematics features in most of the courses that they might have a desire to pursue. She said that women have an opportunity to excel in STEM courses however they are depending on machines and technology to get at the same level with men. ‘We depend on machines and technology to compete with men and once we get this technology on our side as women and girls, we shall do the things that are preventing us from exploring every aspect of STEM,’ noted Kawira. Dr Samuel Ndirangu, the Dean School of Agriculture said that the mathematics contest will be a yearly contest and that it was necessitated by the need to promote mathematics in various schools in Embu County because most students find it difficult to attain a minimum of C+ that is needed for them to pursue courses that need mathematics. Neema Nyakisio, a student from Kitengela who emerged as the best student in the mathematics contest held at the University of Embu, said that her love for mathematics practice has made it possible for her to excel in the discipline. She called on boys in various schools in Embu to embrace the subject and also to ensure that they do more practice so that they can excel in Mathematics.

Source: Kenya News Agency