MINGORA: Experts on Saturday said the poor standard of teaching in schools was to blame for the inadequate production of scientists and mathematicians in the country.

They were speaking during a seminar on education, which was organised by the Innovative Youth Forum and Alif Ailaan in collaboration with Swat’s education department.

The event was attended by educationists, scientists, officials of the education department and elected representatives. MNA Ayesha Syed presided over the event.

“Unless we improve the teaching methodology of science and mathematics and employ modern techniques, the country cannot achieve its goal of development and prosperity,” said young Pakistani PhD scientist Dr Khalid Iqbal, who recently returned from Germany.

He also said 22.6 million children were out of school in the country and that was a major national issue.

Innovative Youth Forum’s chairman and education activists Dr Jawad Iqbal said he was concerned about the poor quality of science and mathematics teaching in the country. “Currently, the teaching methodology for science and mathematics subjects in the country is of very poor standard. It is the main cause of our educational degradation,” he said.

The activist said the National Education Assessment System had revealed that in the National Achievement Test 2014, students of eighth grade scored below average in mathematics i.e. 461 mean score out of 1,000 marks.

“In mathematics, the mean score of eighth grader in KP was 423 out of 1,000 marks, while in science, it was 441 out of 1000, which is really below average,” he said.

Dr Iqbal said the Pakistan Alliance for Maths and Science consisting of young scientists, educationists and social activists was working for the improvement of teaching of science and mathematics subjects in the country.

MNA Ayesha Syed said unfortunately, there was not a single research institution in Swat.She said she would strive for the establishment of such an institution.

The lawmaker urged science and mathematics teachers based in Swat to work hard and give students practical knowledge of their subjects for higher studies and good employment to serve the country.

She said the government had approved a grant of Rs500 million for the Swat Women University due to her serious efforts.

“The land for the university has already been selected and work on it will begin soon,” she said.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2017