Promoting STEM among Girls in Secondary Schools скачать в хорошем качестве

Promoting STEM among Girls in Secondary Schools

Let girls stay in STEM fields In Cameroon though the percentage of girls who complete primary school and transition to Secondary School and those that transition from Secondary right up to High School and University is increasing, a great decline is witness in the number of girls who stay on STEM related subjects as they progress from one level of study to the next. Results of GCE Advanced Level and the Baccalaureate Certificate Examinations over the years have portrayed that girls have strong faculties to perform significantly well in STEM related courses, however, the number of girls who actually sit for STEM subjects in these examinations remain few. The factors that limit girls and young women’s pursuit of STEM related study are many. In times past, girls were never considered as having faculty for education. Investments in girls were considered a waste in the instance where they were often given into early and forced marriages by their parents. In certain communities’ harmful practices on girls such as early marriages, female genital mutilation and early sexualisation not only cause trauma in many female children and girls but also account for why they stay out of school, and even when they are in school, why they perform poorly in STEM related courses. Furthermore, in other societies where girls were allowed to pursue education, household chores and other family constraints which were never equally shared between boys and girls, take a significant proportion of study time thereby limiting girl’s ability to concentrate and pursue STEM studies. While these factors have to do with the Cameroonian society’s cultural and traditional underpinning, the realities in certain school settings such as availability of teachers, lack of adequate support mechanisms for girls in schools and even challenges related to the sexualisation of marks, and limited support for girls by some teachers and school authorities continue to cause a decline in the number of girls pursuing STEM courses. The overall goal of this event was to encourage students most especially girls to stay in STEM fields, giving them an opportunity to learn about various career paths and widen interest in the field, triggering their creativity and research skills necessary to secure the nation’s future. It was also an avenue for these girls to discuss the challenges that impede their ambition to stay in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The event was implemented by the Cameroon Women's Scholarship Alumni in partnership with Cameroon Chevening Alumni Association-CAMCHEV. For details on our work, follow us on; Facebook:   / cameroonwomenscholarshipalumni   Twitter: @cws_alumni For Future partnership, please send us an email to cwsalumni2012@gmail.com