July 29, 2010
There are few disciplines as defining and categorically essential as the disciplines of mathematics and the natural sciences. And it is with the greatest anticipation that we should all welcome the proposed center: The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). It is reported that, in addition to the Center in South Africa, a new Center will be established in Senegal, and one each in Ghana and Ethiopia. The funding for the three new Centers will come from the Canadian government. Canada will provide US$19 million in funding for all three Centers, to be channeled through the Ontario-based Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics according to a news release.
The brainchild of South Africa-born Neil Turok, who founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), in Cape Town, seven years ago, the new Centers in Senegal, Ghana and Ethiopia will be based on the same model.
The pathways to economic and social development are multifaceted. The development of effective policies; the existence of competent institutions to carry out the chosen policies; a system of health care that is both robust and effective; a strong financial sector with competitive impulses; the availability of energy; and a robust educational system are all essential. A country or a nation that does not plan for these crucial factors will simply not progress.
The educational system in Ethiopia can be characterized as chaotic at best and failing at worst. This is partly due to the stops and starts of the past 30 years accompanied by changes in ideology, the lack of finances, the lack of qualified personnel, and the lack of adequate consensus of what the educational system should produce.
From a purely academic point of view, there are certain essential disciplines that should be at the heart of what the schools must teach each and every student. Mathematics and science are at the heart of every human problem and endeavor, and therefore, should be at the core of what students should be exposed to at every level of their educational years.
In the industrially developed countries, there has always been the push for mathematics and the sciences as core disciplines. This comes from the recognition that no sustained effort for forward thrust in improving the human condition can be accomplished without a thorough mastery of these two disciplines. So, for example, the push for more mathematicians and engineers, in the United States in the 1950’s following the launch of Sputnik by the then Soviet Union was, in part, a recognition by the United States that it had fallen behind in an aspect of its progress and national development. As a result, the United States produced the highest number of PhDs in mathematics and people with engineering degrees in the 1970s. Today, the achievements of the United States in the area of scientific and technological progress are for the entire world to see.
Other examples of countries who have understood the contingency of their forward progress on mathematics and the sciences include India, Brazil, Israel, Pakistan, Turkey, Japan, China, South Africa, and, you guessed it, Iran, just to name a few. These countries invested quite handsomely to produce top quality mathematicians and mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers over the past 30 years or so. For example, in Iran, young people of potential are groomed to attend the best engineering and mathematics schools from an early age. India has a history of producing great mathematicians, statisticians as well as engineers. The former Soviet Union was the quintessential producer of high-powered mathematicians of all sorts.
The fact is that countries exhibiting rapid progress have an adequate supply of people who have mastered the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics—otherwise known as the STEM disciplines in the United States.
The task ahead in Ethiopia requires the participation of every able-bodied Ethiopian regardless of what their specific training might be. I think students need to be taught history, the arts, geography and many other disciplines. I also think that rapid development will be assisted immensely if there is appropriate emphasis on mathematics and the sciences. The announcement that there is a plan to establish a center for mathematics in order to produce able mathematicians should be viewed as a step in the right direction in the development of education in Ethiopia.
The author may be reached at: fekade12003@yahoo.com