Science education in Africa began during the last half of the nineteenth century as a result of penetration of African countries by western countries such as Britain, Russia, Belgium and France.
The curriculum of science education at primary level mainly focused on nature study, hygiene and agriculture while in secondary school Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Health Science, Agricultural Science and general Science were taught.
Before the 1960s, syllabuses were set for examination purposes only, and students were only tested on their understanding of the theoretical aspect of the studies.
During the year 2003, the Central Mathematics Science and Technology Education In Africa (CEMASTEA) was formed in Kenya, an initiative that fostered the training of science teachers in Africa.
CEMATEA helped Africa to adopt the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative, which was started by the U.S in 2001 and later introduced in other regions before coming to Africa.
Today the STEM initiative is being backed by the Information, Communication Technologies (ICTs)) which act as the building block for students to form an industrial society which helps in improving the performance of African economies.
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