Four secondary school pupils from Anambra State did Nigeria proud winning the bronze medal in the International Festival of Engineering, Science and Technology (I-FEST) in Tunisia recently – the second school from the state to bring honour to Nigeria in the past eight months. EMMA ELEKWA reports on how the school’s focus on practical science and technology innovation helped its pupils succeed.
Nigerian secondary schools are increasingly making effort to put the country on the global technology map by distinguishing themselves in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
It was last August that five pupils of Regina Pacies Secondary School in Onitsha, Anambra State, won the junior category of the 2018 Technovation world in the United States (U.S.).
Just last month, another school in the state, St John’s Science and Technical College, Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area, won bronze at the International Festival of Engineering, Science and Technology (I-FEST) in Tunisia – the only blacks that participated in the competition.
The school, represented by Ugwuishi Meshack Ogonna, Chuka-Umeora Onyedika Anthony, Nwachukwu Chukwualuka Daniel and Machi Chukwuagozie Dominic, won the award in the Physics (Energy Generation) category for inventing a device they called the Adaptable Alternative Power Supply for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Their project, an electric inverter with solar panel that enables it absorb energy from the sun, warehouse the energy in an inverter and distribute it, was one of the 251 on display from over 2,000 high schools from about 40 nations.
Manager of the school, Rev. Fr. Francis Unegbu, said beating countries like Canada, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, China, Sweden, Ukraine, Malaysia, Brazil, Bosnia Herzgovina, Indonesia, South Africa as well as Tunisia in the finals was not an easy feat. He said the students wowed the judges with their innovation.
He said: “The students were devout and devoted to duty. When they finished their presentation, the team of judges did not believe it was made by four students aged 16 to 18 years.
“Besides, they did not believe they were from Africa because we were the only blacks there – again, coming from a school that probably nobody had heard for the first time.
“Secondly was our decision not to travel with our battery. So when the students requested for a battery to power our device, the judges queried why they came for the competition without a battery.
“The students replied that coming with the battery could have made the device a complete circuit, which no airline could have accepted. I think that response was part of the exam.”
Giving an insight on how the school qualified for the competition, Father Unegbu said the journey started from a humble fair in Anambra State last year.
“We participated in a Science and Technology fair at the Ogidi Educational Zone in Anambra State where we belong. We did well and were chosen to represent the Zone at the state level.
We also did well in Awka the state capital and little did we know that our project was being monitored by Arena for Contest in Mathematics, Science and Technology.
“It is an independent body affiliated with the International Festival of Engineering Science and Technology. So after their assessment round the six geo-political zones in the country, they chose us to represent Nigeria at the international contest. They wrote us and the rest became history,” he said.
Principal of the school, Samuel Otubeh, told The Nation that the school went into the competition confident of winning the gold medal because of their level of preparedness.
“When we received the invitation to attend the competition, we were very optimistic that we would win because the students were fully tutored on science and engineering subjects.
“We actually went for first position, but when we were declared the winner of third position, we still praised God and accepted it that way,” he said.
The quartet was beaten to the gold medal by Daniil Sharoykin from Mogilev, Belarus, who designed a water quality control device. A representative of Bosnia won the silver medal.
Though they wanted more than gold, Father Unegbu said the school was happy with its boys’ performance, which was the result of a deliberate culture of giving more than what the curriculum demands and paying lots of attention to practical sessions.
He said: “We follow the normal school curriculum, syllabus and scheme of work in preparing the students. It is an ongoing process of teaching and learning. The only difference is that while others give less of the school curriculum, in St. John’s College Alor, we do even more.
“Secondly, we place great attention on practical. The students are led by the teachers to become professionals of what they learn by becoming friends of the wide varieties of the workshops and laboratories that are abound in our school.
“The products might be ‘teacher-supervised’ but definitely not ‘teacher-produced’. Our modality is child-centered so they are accompanied to do it themselves.
“Thirdly, we follow the standard best practices in Sciences and Engineering. So we constantly compare the work we do in the inside with the globally accepted standards.”
Selecting participants for competitions is not an elite team practice at St John’s. On the contrary, Father Unegbu said pupils are selected randomly.
“Our policy of formation is 100 per cent child education. We do not concentrate on a few for competition but all. Our normal school teaching and learning is all-encompassing for all students.
“During competitions, we only do a random pick and then drill them internally. The winners will then represent the school each time there is a competition. In all, we don’t participate in competitions just for competitions, we participate to assess ourselves. Sometimes we are chosen because I believe the outside world already know the stuff we are made of,” he said.
He, however, added that competence is prioritised in choosing contestants.
“We can, therefore, comfortably say that our student formation programme is not ‘competition-driven’ but ‘capacity/competence-driven’ that can stand the test of every competition in the world and in the labour market after school,” he said.
Winning Bronze does not mark the end of development on the school’s invention at I-FEST.
One of the contestants, Ugwuishi, said despite financial challenges, they would march on to improve the device.
He said they started the project in 2016 when they produced a 3,000W inverter.
“Our plan is to continue our research in the innovation which we intend to showcase to the world of technology,” he said.
When he received the winners recently, Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, said he was encouraged by the team’s performance, which he said showed investment in education could yield desired results.
“The progress we are making shows that if you focus on a sector and show some seriousness about what you are doing, put the right people in charge, the results will come in.
“It takes a lot for kids to leave the shores of this country and beat people that come from the developed countries; to stand up and defend what they have produced and to show what they can do if given the opportunity.
“Listening to these boys talk with such confidence about direct current and alternating current, it shows that they own this invention.
“They understand what they are doing. I think they need to be encouraged more to continue with what they are doing,” said Obiano, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Nkem Okeke.
The Commissioner for Basic Education, Prof Kate Omenugha, also said the state’s partnership with the church in running some schools had worked well.
“Our partnership with the church is working very well. We have imbued in our students that global competitiveness and a strong belief in themselves; which is very important.
“We have perfected what we call a ‘value-based education.’ Umu akwukwo Anambra believes that nothing is impossible, absolutely nothing. And “Yes, We Can.” That’s our slogan. The belief that nothing is impossible.
“These are things we have taught them. We have taught them our shared values too; that they must be the best in all they do,” she added.1
Leave a Reply