The Registrar, West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Dr Iyi Uwadiae says the knowledge of mathematics is very important for national development.
Uwadiae at the 54th Annual Conference of the Mathematical Association of Nigeria (MAN), noted that mathematics education helped individuals comprehend, analyse, synthesise, evaluate and make generalisations in problem solving.
“Mathematics provides a powerful and universal language that is appropriate when communicating Mathematics ideas, reasoning and findings both orally and in writing, especially in this 21st century.
“The progress of a nation is measured in terms of its ability to meet the needs of its citizens.
“Every nation therefore makes concerted efforts to meet these needs in the most effective and efficient manner.
“Nigeria is a developing nation and that is why it is still grappling with poverty, hunger, overpopulation, unemployment, diseases and many others and therefore, a lot needs to be done to tackle these setbacks and make it comparable with other developed nations.
“A good foundational skill in Mathematics is therefore sine qua non to improvement in the various sectors and therefore as a subject, it should be given its pride of place in the school curriculum.
“There is no doubt that education us a tool for national develooment. The knowledge and skills required for such development are acquired from the carious subjects and courses studied in school,” the WAEC boss said.
Uwaduae added that mathematics equiped students with analytical and logical minds needed to learn other subjects and enabled them to develop self-confidence and become self radiant.
“It could be argued that the more self-confident a student is, the more easily he or she could learn any subject and the more meaningful contributions they could make to national development,” Uwadiae noted.
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