The scientists and experts stressed that in order to dispel the fear of science from students’ minds and popularise the subject among them, school teachers needed to be properly trained.
Why is that the very mention of science literally evokes fear and trepidation among children in our country? This was one question that several scientists and experts sought to address at the inaugural ceremony of the five-day-long ‘Mega Science Fair’ hosted at Army Public School grounds, Kamaraj Road in the city on Monday.
The scientists and experts stressed that in order to dispel the fear of science from students’ minds and popularise the subject among them, school teachers needed to be properly trained.
S Ranganathan, honorary professor and senior Homi Bhabha fellow at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), told DNA that in order to provide quality science education to children, good and trained teachers were the need of the hour.
“Conducting science lectures are not enough. We need to provide quality science education to children to rekindle their interest in various branches of science. Sadly, the country lacks good science teachers at school level,” he lamented.
Echoing Ranganathan, R Krishnan, former director of Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) at Defence and Development Organisation (DRDO), said that trained science teachers at school-level were the missing link in ensuring quality science education in the country.
“Unless teachers are well-trained and well-versed in their subject, it’s difficult to impart proper science education. Teachers need to lay emphasis on teaching science in a simple manner. Children should be guided to do a lots of hands-on experiments to understand the subject,” he explained.
Krishnan, who is also advisor to the Agastya International Foundation, a voluntary organisation promoting science education, said that under the foundation a special training programme was underway for teachers.
“As part of the foundation’s programme to promote science education, we have a special teachers’ training programme. At the request of the government of Karnataka, we are currently giving training to government science school teachers in Bangalore. Unless a teachers understands his subject properly, it is difficult to teach students,” Krishnan said.
In fact, the Centre for Creative Teaching run by the Agastya International Foundation motivates teachers to enhance their performance, raise the quality of child-teacher interaction and spark curiosity and creativity among the teaching community.
The five-day science educational fair in Bangalore, a joint initiative of IBM, Agastya International Foundation and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, is aimed at generating and promoting interest in science among students in science through real-time experiments.
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