KIGALI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- African governments have been urged to ensure gender equality in science and technology education to promote inclusive development.
"Few African women are in science and technology career when compared with men across the continent. African culture encourages stereotypes that limit the potential of women in education," Mabel Imbuga, vice chancellor of Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, said Thursday at a continental conference on enhancing quality tertiary education across Africa.
Rwanda hosted the meeting from July 5 to 6 dubbed: "Mobilizing African Intellectuals towards Quality Tertiary Education" It is organized under the auspices of the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (SDGC/A).
The two-day meeting has attracted more than 300 intellectuals and scholars from all over Africa and beyond including heads of academic affairs, and other representatives of African academic networks, councils and research centers.
Imbuga urged African governments to monitor policies on gender issues in schools in order to promote the potential of both boys and girls in science and technologies.
At the meeting which ended Thursday, participants highlighted the importance of the consideration of the gender dimension in education for the achievement of Agenda 2063 aspirations.
According to Abel Idowu Olayinka, vice chancellor of University of Ibadan in Nigeria, equal participation in education will enable men and women to reach full intellectual potential, which is a boost to social and economic development of the continent.
The meeting also recommended African nations to provide a platform to African scholars with an interest in undertaking research on gender relations in African higher education especially in science and technology.
