BENIN CITY/Nigeria: Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Patrick Ukah has stressed the importance of the development of a curriculum for science communication in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
The commissioner made this assertion at the Conference on Science Communication, Food Security and Community Empowerment/Unveiling of the Science Communication Curriculum (SCRIPT) at the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State.
Chief Ukah said, “For those of us in the media, we know that science is content and these days if you listen to the television or read the papers, we hardly get content from science because of the problems of the means to communicate it, and the people to communicate it. That makes this conference very very important, and I would like to urge the participants to please look deeply and see how we can improve on our content especially in providing the media that we need to be able to push that message that science has to give us.”
In his speech, the Vice Chancellor of Nasarawa State University and co-convener of the conference, Prof. Bala Mohammed, lamented that effective communication was still a challenge in Africa, saying, “If we effectively communicate to our farmers in a way that they can understand, they will be more empowered to adopt new technologies and innovations and the agricultural sector will witness massive transformation”
He rhetorically asked, “How did the Japanese, the Chinese and the Southern Koreans do it? …there are lessons from these countries we can learn to boost science communication and empower communities in Africa to achieve food and nutrition security.”
Prof. Mohammed expressed optimism that the outcome of the conference would help simplify the way we communicate basic scientific concepts and terminologies to rural farmers in such a way that would boost the agricultural sector in the country.
Highlight of the event was the unveiling of the Science Communication Curriculum (SCRIPT) by the Senate Committee Chairman on Public Accounts, Senator Matthew Urhoghide.
