Mathematics key to science, technology

 I WAS happy to read a good letter on Monday pointing out the importance of math and science in education. 

The National also ran a good editorial on the issue yesterday. 

Let me bring to the Government’s and other stakeholders’ notice that mathematics is the foundation of science and technology.

We in Papua New Guinea have come a long way in our 40 years of independence and must not be ignorant of trends in the Asia Pacific region and rest of the world. 

The Government must be the first to get this small but crucial point right. 

Without qualified math lecturers and tutors in universities and teachers’ colleges, you will not have competent graduates exiting universities to go out and teach the millions of students in secondary or primary schools.

Math is a challenging subject but when the wrong people are entrusted with the task of guiding the young at the lower levels in this subject, there will be disasters.

Many students will have difficulties assimilating concepts taught and may believe that they do not have the brains for that subject and others that are related to it.

One of our country’s greatest needs is for our MPs who are aware of this important issue to raise it in parliament.  

The newspapers and tabloids are telling us that the United Kingdom has noticed the acute shortage of qualified math and science teachers and has been importing teachers from China to help them teach their children.

In New Zealand it is a national concern when the government is not serious in addressing the same problem. 

Their media outlets report on it and their academics make sure the politicians get it into their brains that to lack qualified math teachers is akin to cutting off a main artery to the brain of their economy.

The PNG Mathematical Society had its last conference in 2014 and similar issues were brought up by our own senior mathematicians who are lecturers in our top universities.

One thing that was pointed out was there are currently only three Papua New Guineans with doctorate degrees in mathematics (pure or applied). 

It is unfortunate that these three scholars completed their PhD studies in the 1990s and may soon be approaching retirement age. 

The crucial question now is: Will the Government take a proactive step in rectifying this problem?

There are many postgraduate students in math and computer science fields in our universities who need to be sponsored to do graduate studies abroad with the aim of eventually obtaining PhDs in those fields in three to five years.

Many students find it difficult to secure scholarships under schemes run by foreign countries or organisations because of other requirements.

If the Government does not act quickly, the talk of having all students attending school from Grades 1-12 will have no real significance as they will exit school with a real deficiency in math content and those of related subjects.

The possibility is, in the next decade, there will no qualified teachers in such demanding subjects like math ready to teach the millions in grades 1 to 12. 

Former Teacher

Port Moresby