The dream of STEM as a national development tool

A story in our Sunday edition focused on Miss Ashley Wellington, a third-year computer science student at Northern Caribbean University, should be a must-read.

Miss Wellington set tongues wagging four years ago as the only female in a level three course for motor vehicle repair run by the HEART/NSTA Trust skills training programme.

She finished the one-year course atop her class of 15.

In reality, it was a natural progression for Miss Wellington, now 21 years old, since she was always fascinated by cars — spending much of her childhood tinkering with engines alongside her father, Mr Shaun Wellington.

The latter gives us a valuable lesson in good parenting. He claims he harboured visions of his daughter entering medicine, but when convinced that “wasn’t her interest” he “let her choose what she wants to do because she is the one who has to live with herself”.

Miss Wellington may well choose not to embrace auto mechanics as a career. However, her choice of computer science as her degree course surely confirms a binding commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Indeed, she is encouraging women — said to be under-represented in STEM fields — to follow her example.

“The sky is the limit,” Miss Wellington told our reporter. “In the STEM field we need more women because… we’re smart, we’re capable, and there is no limit to what we can do and can achieve...”

To be fair, the Jamaican Government has been talking up the necessity of STEM as a key element in the drive for national development.

It seems we are now much closer to the start-up of the much-talked about construction of six dedicated STEM schools. That project, according to Prime Minister Mr Andrew Holness, is “designed specifically to… developing the Jamaican who does not fear mathematics, does not fear engineering, does not fear science... and… will use it for the creation of value for the Jamaican people”.

Mr Holness also said the Government will establish a STEM innovation teaching centre at a long-planned, redeveloped National Heroes’ Circle in Kingston.

And, we recall that last year a five-year scholarship programme was launched for 1,250 young people to be trained as STEM teachers by The Mico University College.

That, we expect, will help to further strengthen an integrated STEM programme at what we consider to be the under-developed Sydney Pagon STEM Academy in northern St Elizabeth, as well as technical high schools, and indeed all high schools.

In mid-2023, while arguing that “a STEMcompetent workforce will positively impact every sector”, Mico President Dr Asburn Pinnock told of how the college removed itself from the National Water Commission grid by using its engineering skills to extract water from a 240-foot well.

Only last week, Opposition spokesman on investment, trade and global logistics Mr Anthony Hylton reiterated the People’s National Party’s position that Jamaica’s economy will need to grow at seven per cent annually for the next 10 to 15 years in order to achieve a per capita income of US$20,000.

Even should we bring perennial bugbear, crime, to heel, that dream for truly meaningful average income will, we suspect, remain unrealised until the nation, as a unified whole, becomes totally committed to STEM as a development tool.

Except for the views expressed in the column above, the articles published on this page do not necessarily represent the views of the Jamaica Observer.