Written by Marieme Jamme | From How We Made It In Africa

STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. In the last two years in Africa it has been used gloomily by a few organisations as part of their ICT programmes, either as their way of investment in education, or as a way of promoting technology and innovation.

However, STEM must not be just a jargon used to make any company look trendy in fancy reports, or concealing their failure in helping the future workforce without clear and tangible plans.

Each year, the United States invests billions in STEM education and workforce development. They know that over 70% of their domestic and international jobs will require core STEM skills.

But the African continent hasn’t got a robust strategic plan on STEM policies, or even a clear road map or framework of implementing them effectively. It is not even clear if some national leaders understand their importance or meaning.

Consider, for a second, the exploitation of Africa’s natural resources such as the bauxite in Guinea and Ghana. If the governments had a clear strategy on STEM policies, more cartographers could be drawing maps locally rather than outsourcing it in Europe.

Read more at How We Made It In Africa