The Lagos State University-Africa Centre of Excellence for Innovative and Transformative STEM Education (LASU-ACEITSE) on Monday inaugurated its laboratory to train students in science, mathematics and technology.
The National Coordinator, ACE Impact, Nigeria, Dr Joshua Atah, said at the ceremony that the success of the project was largely due to quality leadership and support of the university team.
Atah urged the university management and the LASU-ACEITSE team to sustain the project by building capacity at the leadership and implementation levels.
He said this was because it was time to fully brace up for the challenges that lay ahead.
“This project will be ending in the next 13 months, and so, all hands must be on deck to ensure that the goals of the ACE Impact project are achieved.
“In your efforts to build capacity, you can count on the support of the project implementation unit of the ACE Impact project at the National Universities Commission as we have done in the past.
“By the design of this project, under the disbursement linked indicators, quality of education and research through regionalisation, centres were expected to achieve certain milestones in order to qualify for the earnings.
“One of those results is the improved teaching and research environment. Today, you have made it clear to the world that the achievement of this result is complete, “he said.
In her remarks, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, Vice-Chancellor, LASU said that the centre was critical to the achievement of the objective of internationalisation and making the university the best in West Africa.
Olatunji-Bello said that for this reason, the management of the university was committed to the goals and aspirations of the ACE-Impact Project.
“We have continued to sustain and improve the academic and administrative performance of the Centre.
“Since the establishment of the Centre in 2018, it has continued to play a key role in capacity building, not only for registered students of the centre but also for the other students and indeed, staff of the University,”she said.
Olatunji-Bello added that the centre had gone offshore in its delivery of short courses.
“The recent training of 311 STEM teachers in Benin Republic, in April this year, is a case in hand,”she said.
Emeritus Prof. Peter Okebukola, Pioneer Director of LASU-ACEITSE said that the project was approved by the World Bank and Federal Government for the training of exemplary, top quality STEM teachers.
Okebukola, also former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), said that so far, the centre had produced, more than ever, masters, PHD, research students in West Africa.
“This laboratory will provide STEM students with hands-on experiences because science is about knowledge, skills.
“I want to specially thank LASU V-C and all the management team and Director of the centre, one of the greatest mathematicians in education, for bringing this vision to reality.
“I want everyone in the country to know that we have the best centre for training top quality teachers in STEM.
“STEM education is for everyone, all we need is to create more awareness for people to be aware by encouraging children to study STEM,”he said.
Okebukola noted that governments should lay down policies for progressive STEM education in Nigeria, which must be implemented and monitored.
Prof. Rasheed Sanni ,Director, LASU-ACEITSE, called on governments at all levels to replicate the STEM education laboratories in different local governments for the benefit of teachers and students.
Sanni said that since the centre started, it had graduated many students, including those for masters and PHD.
“We currently have about 120 students running different courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the centre.
“I urge all students to make good use of this STEM education laboratory in order to improve their training and academics.
“The building has four science education laboratories such as biology, chemistry, physics and ICT, together with other spaces including classrooms, seminar room and so on,”he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that LASU-ACEITSE was supported by the World Bank to promote excellence in the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). (NAN)
By Oluwakemi Oladipo
 on Monday inaugurated){kind=link}