- Fixes March 15 for unveiling
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
An Igbo social-cultural group, Odinala Cultural Heritage Foundation (OCHE) has signed a partnership with the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka for the use of the Mother Tongue in Teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Schools.
The proposed OCHE Igbo STEM School(Igbo Silicone Valley) which will be sited at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and will take off on a virtual note targeting to enroll Igbo kids from all parts of the world.
According to a statement by Caleb Ekene Onwe, National Publicity Secretary, OCHIE Igbo, the target of the OCHIE Igbo STEM Project is to raise a generation of Igbo children who can innovate, conceive, invent, and interpret phenomena in the Igbo language.
“This way, the educational barriers and challenges associated with the learning sciences in our primary and secondary schools would be a thing of the past, ” the group stated.
OCHE noted that “over the years, educationists, researchers, and curriculum development experts have argued that children perform better when taught in their mother tongue.
The efficacy of the above claim lies in the inroads and quantum of converts that the missionaries made in Igboland on their arrival.
They harnessed the depth of the Igbo Language and applied it in the explanation of Christian theology, mysteries of the Church, Articles of Faith, and in the authorship of the Catechism of the Christian Doctrine. This aided the rapid spread of the Gospel and they recorded immense success.
Therefore, if we must unlock the potential of the next generation, we must task our time, finances, and intellect in developing a curriculum which will aid our children to discern phenomena, interpret algebra and the universe in Igbo Language. That way alone, we can be assured that our people can put a man on the Moon in our lifetime.
The statement reads: “Following the framework, in 2021, Odinala Cultural Heritage Foundation otherwise known as OCHIE Igbo signed an MoU with Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka on the development of a curriculum for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, wherein Igbo will be the language of instruction and evaluation; under the esteemed leadership of Prof. Charles Okechukwu Esimone, the Vice Chancellor Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
After the signing of the MoU, the University in collaboration with OCHIE Igbo created the following Committees to help achieve the above objectives. They are; “The Coordination Committee is led by Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu (Deputy Vice Chancellor in Charge of Administration at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka), with Okoro Chinedum Benedict as the Committee’s Co-Chairman.
“The Curriculum Development Committee is led by Prof. Lilian Akudolu of the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and the Igbo Translation Committee is led by Prof. Thecla Udemmadu of the Department of Igbo, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
The target of the OCHIE Igbo STEM Project is to raise a generation of Igbo children who can innovate, conceive, invent, and interpret phenomena in the Igbo language. This way, the educational barriers and challenges associated with the learning sciences in our primary and secondary schools would be a thing of the past.
Interestingly, the Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Charles Okechukwu Esimone, and the entire University community are set to inaugurate the above Committees to commence work on March 15, 2024, with Okoro Chinedum Benedict as the pioneer Executive Director for the OCHIE Igbo STEM School. This may be a new awakening for the people of the Southeast.
The Planning Committee is headed by Chief Ugochukwu Okeke (Enyioha) and Prof. Ujam Oguejiofor as Secretary.