Mathematics Not For The Arts And Humanities Assures of National Disaster - NMS

The Nigerian Mathematical Society, NMS has expressed concern about recent removal of Mathematics from the study of arts and humanities in the tertiary institutions of learning across the country. The body expressed deep concern at the world press conference held in the NUJ Secretariat, Makurdi, Benue State recently.

Led by National President, Professor Mbah, the group lamented that "the Nigerian Mathematical Society received with sadness the news of mathematics no longer being a compulsory admission requirement into Nigerian universities and other tertiary levels of education..." 

The body of professionals noted "mathematics is a universal language of reasoning and has remained a cornerstone of intellectual base for all disciplines including the Arts and Humanities." 

It regretted that since Nigeria desired growth which must not be limited to the science and technology spheres, the need for sharpening the tools for the acquisition of the excellent knowledge in the areas of arts and humanities would better the study with mathematics to excel in all the fields.

The group acknowledged that today's interconnected world needed mathematics as the foundation to advance critical thinking skills, improve the decision making process and enhance quality of creativity. 

The Society insisted that since mathematics remained one of the foundational subjects in the Nigerian educational curriculum, signified also that mathematics was important for cognitive development, problem solving and logical reasoning.

 On this position, it opined that students from "JSS 1 through SS 3" required mathematics as a core subject, but would lose the interest if the same subject became not necessary for the study of arts and humanities. 

The body said "in as much as this proposal may appear to reduce academic pressure on students, it has far reaching implications for national development and individual competence." It added since negative effect overweights the positive, implementation of the policy became useless and the authorities should rescind the decision. 

In line with the opinion, the group appealed or advocated "for the continued inclusion of mathematics as a compulsory requirement for admission into the Nigerian universities and other tertiary levels of education in a way that does not exclude students pursuing courses in the arts and humanities. 

The body cautioned "a generation of graduates with poor quantitative reasoning skills can hinder national progress in innovation and data-driven policymaking." It stated that all nations thrive economically by integrating mathematical literacy across all the levels of disciplines.

The group concluded "when only students from science or social science backgrounds are mathematically literate, social inequality deepens. Arts and Humanities graduates may be excluded from opportunities requiring numeracy, creating a divide between 'quantitative and the non quantitative' citizens!"