STEM for teachers

THE Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Technology Development has relaunched the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme, which will also include the training of teachers in the field of science and mathematics.

In an interview on the sidelines of the official launch of the science and mathematics secondary teachers training programme in Gweru, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said Government was reintroducing STEM which start by capacitating of teachers in the field of Science and Mathematics.

Prof Murwira said it was prudent to first train teachers before giving scholarships to students taking up Science subjects at Advanced Level.

He said Government had capacitated Mkoba Teachers’, Masvingo Teachers’ and Joshua Mqabukho Nkomo Colleges to enrol students for the Science and Mathematics secondary teachers training programme.

Prof Murwira said the ministry had already enrolled 339 students for the training programme.

“We have capacitated three teachers training institutions that for the first time since independence will be training science and mathematics secondary teachers in the country.

“We know the STEM programme had been designed to be an A-Level scholarship and we said no. Scholarships cannot be given to students when we do not have teachers to teach them those subjects. So we said we should focus on teachers first.

“So today we have launched the start of the training programme of about 339 secondary school science teachers that we have recruited in the three colleges to start the Science and Mathematics secondary school teachers training program so that we move STEM forward,” he said.

Prof Murwira said there was a teacher deficit of about 5000 in the country, which the ministry was looking forward to filling.

“We have a shortage of teachers of around 5 000 and that is why we are having all these secondary teachers training programmes to ensure that we plug that gap,” he said.