Mathematics is one of the most important
subjects in the school curriculum. There
is hardly any aspect of life that is not
touched by this all-important and cross-cutting subject. Young people being unaware of its crucial importance often study the subject as though they were
under duress. Their teachers know better and are fully aware that their students cannot cope with challenges of life
if they do not acquire some basic understanding of mathematics.
Mathematics, according to Fajemidagba
(1986) was described as the queen and
servant of school subjects since it cut
across the school curricula. Mathematics as a school subject affects all
aspects of human life at different degrees
and spectra. For instance,
mathematics is relevant in economics,
political, geographical, scientific and technological aspects of man because it
centered on the use of numbers which is an integral component of every aspects
of knowledge. Other areas where the use
of numbers is predominant include, statistics, accounts, arithmetic, engineering
and so on. For example, the earliest civilization of mankind came through
mathematical manipulations through the use of numbers.
Again, mathematics is seen as the language
used to describe the problems arising in most branches of science and technology.
It is a subject related to other subjects in the areas like number and numeration,
variations, graphs, fractions, logarithms and indices, algebraic processes, solution
of equations, areas and volumes of shapes. In the mid-serenities, the importance
of mathematics was forcibly brought to the public attention during the “traditional
and modern” mathematics controversy
Awokoya (1975) and Fafunwa (1980) revealed in their different research studies that everyone lives in a world where science and technology have become an integral part of the world culture, therefore, for any
nation to be relevant; it must not condone
the importance of mathematics in
her educational system. When the controversy mentioned earlier, which was
whether traditional or modern mathematics curriculum to offer in our schools, at the height of
the controversy the
governing board of “ the comparative education studies and adoption
centre (CESAC) Felt that the importance of mathematics was in fact being
obscured further in the minds of the young people by the controversy. Here was a raging
controversy between adults who could not agree on what version of mathematics to
teach and yet these same adults were urging students to take the subject
seriously, CESAC was however, charged by the Federal Ministry of Education to
find the lasting solutions to the problem using the system approach method. Their terms of references include;
i.
To clearly determine the general objectives of
mathematics education in Nigerian
secondary schools
ii.
To
on the basis of the objectives so determined, develop a mathematics curriculum
with which to achieve them.
This led to
proper orientation and motivation of the CESAC board, the importance of
mathematics acquisition of science and technology for the national development
was discussed. It was unanimously agreed
that, if the country readily wanted to develop,
and knowing the roles of science and technology in this process, the
nation must face and solve the problem
of providing mathematics teachers, whatever curriculum developed, no matter
how good, its effectiveness would depend on the quality of teachers to implement it, as
no education is believed to rise
above the qualities of its teachers. At
this juncture, the participants became motivated to take up the challenges of
determining the objectives with vigor and excitement. After much debates and arguments, they came
up with the following six objectives for mathematics curriculum education
namely;
i.
To generate interest in mathematics and provide
a solid foundation for everyday life
ii.
To develop computational skills and foster the
desire and ability to be accurate to a
degree relevant to the problem at hand
iii.
To
develop ability to recognize problem and to solve them with related mathematics
knowledge
iv.
To
develop precise, logical and abstract thinking
v.
To
provide necessary mathematical background
for further education
vi.
To
stimulate and encourage creativity
From the above objectives, it became
apparent from a careful study that, the
curriculum would have to embrace
aspects of the so-called “traditional and modern” mathematics, thus, when the objectives
were accepted and adopted at the
national mathematical conference organized
by the Federal Ministry of Education held at Benin City in
January 1977, the controversy was resolved and the (CESAC) evolved
a compete syllabus for secondary school system. The reformation of mathematics
curriculum has continued to evolve, and mathematics has continued to be
compulsory for the secondary school students in Nigeria and one of the
prerequisite for getting admission in
most Nigerian universities. Despite the efforts at every point in time to make
the Nigerian students realized the importance of mathematics in the nations
building, there seems to be decline of interest in learning of the subject.