Many students are not best friends with Mathematics. The statistics of
mass failures churned out in qualifying examinations across the country
can attest to this fact. However, there are still quite a number who
have excelled greatly in the subject.
Prof. Mohammed Ibrahim is one of such. He has spent
his whole life around the subject-studying it, teaching it, and
teaching people studying to teach it. In this interview, the President
of the Mathematics Association of Nigeria gives insights into why
students fail mathematics.
Tell us about the Mathematics association of Nigeria?
It was established over 53years ago in Nigeria with branches across
the thirty-six states of the federation and FCT. M.A.N boasts of over a
hundred thousand active members nationwide being the oldest of
Mathematical bodies across the nation.
Many students see Mathematics as a difficult subject, as a
result, the mass failure of the subject in WASSCE, NECO, UTME and other
qualifying examinations. Why do you think this is, and what can be done
to improve the situation?
Mass failure of students in Mathematics may be attributed to many
factors which can be categorised under two sub-headings namely;
Teachers’ influence and Students’ mentality. Teachers’ influence in mass
failure of Mathematics can result from poor teaching techniques,
inability to make the subject practicable and simple, poor knowledge of
the course and so on.
Student’s however contributed immensely to mass failure of
Mathematics due to apathy or hatred for the subject; Laziness/Lazy
attitude to studying the subject; Seeing the subject as abstract or
non-practicable; Working in isolation or neglecting group studies;
Having a negative attitude towards the subject or the teacher; Lack of
textbooks/teaching materials among others.
The mass failure can be eradicated if the following measures amongst
others can be taken by updating the teacher on new teaching techniques
of the subject; equipping the library with recent and updated textbooks;
making the learning environment conducive for both the teacher and the
students/pupils; and making the learning of the subject practicable for
the pupils to admire it.
Apart from some students’ apathy towards the subject, what other challenges are facing Mathematics in Nigeria?
Other challenges facing Mathematics education in Nigeria are the lack
of qualified teachers, poor learning environments, lack of teaching
materials/textbooks and small scale Mathematics competition among
students.
Why is Mathematics important for every student?
Mathematics is important for every student because it is the bedrock
of other subjects. Another thing to note is that adequate knowledge in
Mathematics boosts reasoning faculty of students. Knowledge of
Mathematics helps students to understand their environments better
through thorough analysis of the existing fact.
These challenges can be surmounted by upgrading the standard of
education through equipping each school with necessary textbooks,
employing competent teachers for the subject and providing adequate
infrastructural facilities for schools.
Another area to be looked into is that of providing competitive
platform for students to rub minds and grow; just like the Mathematics
competitions I mentioned earlier.
Improving the welfare of Mathematics teachers and giving scholarship
to the best Mathematics students’ at all levels- primary, secondary and
tertiary will serve an incentive for students to strive to do better.
What are the upcoming programmes of the Association?
We have our 52nd annual conference coming up between August 30 and
September 1, this year. It is holding at the University of Nigeria,
Enugu Campus, UNEC. The conference is themed: ‘Mathematics as a tool for
research, governance and service to humanity.
>
>
>
