On a global scale Africa appears to require a redevelopment of it’s approach to mathematics. A Global Information Technology Report 2014 compiled by the World Economic Forum ranked the quality of Math and Science in various countries across the world.
On the global scale, Singapore ranked first with a value of 6.3, followed by Finland with the same value. Belgium came in third with 6.0. Tunisia, which is number one in Africa, ranked 31st on the global scale, with Morocco at 52nd, and Cote D’Ivoire at 60th while Ghana ranks 62nd.
The point of note is how The top African country ranked only 31st globally which is a state of affairs that requires attention. Africa is rife with human resources and intellectual talent yet globally tends lag behind the developed world. RGSM Africa realizes that some of major weaknesses in Africa include a lack of communication and collaboration across the continent and lack of physical resources in some countries. These factors severely cripple the development and growth of mathematics across the continent.
Pioneering professors from several Universities across Africa have teamed up and through establishing networks and sharing resources intend to face the problem head on the bridge the gap between Africa and the rest of world. Dr Edward M Lungu, Dr Habtu Zegeye and Dr J.B. Gatsinzi of The University of Botswana along with Prof. F. Massamba of the University of Kwazulu Natal are the initiating professors of the RGSM project funded by The Simon Foundation.
The Long Term Goals of the project will provide a platform for experienced teachers and researchers in the region to coordinate their efforts in training and research in Pure and Applied Mathematics. The MSC degree program will prepare students for PhD research in Pure Mathematics, Bio-mathematics, Insurance Mathematics, Financial Mathematics, Mathematical Statistics, Mathematical and Epidemiological Modeling. It is envisaged that by the end of 5 years, the program we will have added at least 8 MSC and 8 PhD graduates. The project to publish at least thirty five (35) journal articles and at least sixty (60) conference/seminar papers during the project period.
The project is aimed at significantly cuting training costs for the Sub-Saharan Governments and reduce the brain drain as a good proportion of African students who train abroad choose not to return to their countries. Pooling of resources will ensure a program at any of the participating institutions with a full staff complement to teach and research and ensure adequate resources to support teaching and research. The program will stimulate completion for places and hopefully raise standards of our graduates. The research is expected to yield policy recommendations that will assist our planners in health, agriculture and finance.
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