WARRI STEM SUMMER SCH

OVER ONE HUNDRED STUDENTS ENGAGE IN BOTH THEORY AND PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE ON SCIENCE RELATED SUBJECTS

Warri

Over one hundred students drawn from different public secondary schools in Warri North, Warri South, and Uvwie local government areas of the state had for the last two weeks engaged in free summer classes tagged WARRI STEM SUMMER SCHOOL 2019.

The students from Senior Secondary Schools were taught various science subjects as well as practicals on converting waste from food and cow dung into biogas, plastic waste into beautiful furniture designs and basic application on ICT - Website development.

The benefiting students of this year’s two weeks Warri STEM summer school were drawn from different public schools in about four local government areas of the state were given a one week of theory classes of some science subjects at Nana college Warri and another one week of practical at the PIND Foundation’s ATED Centre.

Some of the highlights of the practical session was the design of a Biodigester which converts Animal and food waste into biogas by the Biogas team, the Plastic team designed and constructed beautiful furnitures out of recycled plastics and rubber, whilst the ICT team designed and developed a Warri STEM Summer School website and various computer applications.

The Field Operations and Appropriate Technology Enabled Development Center manager Ms. Florence Agbejule said that the free summer school was aimed at engaging students from public schools during the holidays on both theory and practical knowledge on subjects from the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics known as STEM in acronym.

Ms. Agbejule said that the free Warri STEM summer school which started in 2017 was supported by various partners such as Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta – PIND, Green Knowledge Foundation, Centre for Public Policy and Development and the Itsekiri Daughters and Wives Association amongst others, to increase awareness on the  importance of STEM related disciplines to secondary school students as well as encourage them to pursue STEM related careers and alleviate the myth around difficulty in science subjects.

She described the summer school as a success and therefore urged the benefiting students to be good Warri STEM ambassadors as they further their education.

Ms. Agbejule disclosed that the selection of the students was based on merit and for only public secondary schools.

Some of the facilitators from the plastic, biogas and ICT classes who spoke to newsmen including Ms. Tse Uweja, Mr. Collins Azuike and Ms. Audrey Mukoro all gave their various experiences with the children.

They implored the students to put into good use of both the practical and theory knowledge of what they have learnt from the Warri STEM summer school so as to be better persons in the future.

For their parts, some of the benefiting students and their team leaders pointed out that the two weeks have not only imparted them with practical and theoretical knowledge but also helped them built characters as well as socialized.

They lauded the organizers of the Warri STEM summer school and prayed God to bless them.

No doubt with these young lads having been taught on how to convert waste into useful products and if they go to practicalize it, it then means that mindset of seeing waste as waste rather than being useful will be a thing of the past soon.