The ninth edition of the annual science fair competition that attracts A-Level students from across the country came to a climax Tuesday, June 8, with the team from Cornerstone Leadership Academy emerging the winners. The competition, which saw upcountry schools sweep top positions after Kigali-based schools largely shunned the contest, seeks to promote science subjects, inspire innovation and enhance the ability of students to translate what they learn in school into project proposals. Participating students are tasked to pitch project ideas that are critiqued by a panel of experts, with the latest judges being varsity lecturers. Most importantly, the students are challenged to employ critical thinking and use the knowledge and skills they acquired to come up with innovative solutions to everyday challenges, with a view to help improve people’s lives. But the panel can also draw questions from knowledge beyond classroom walls. And that’s exactly what transpired at the grand finale this week much to the chagrin of many students and teachers. Nonetheless, while the element of surprise may not be the best thing in a competition, it’s healthy for the student contest to feature knowledge that one can access out of the confines of the classroom as long as it’s within the reasonable range of their intellectual capabilities. In a fast-paced world of innovation and research, knowledge is constantly evolving with a great deal of new resources added onto the world’s knowledge bank every other day. In the real-world of work these dynamics continuously inform decision-making with regard to hiring, investment priorities, among others. Yet, it’s next to impossible for school curricula to change every time new knowledge has been gained and integrated into academic literature. Indeed, school should stimulate a student’s appetite to do research and acquire more knowledge far beyond what they learnt from the teacher. And, with the internet and improved connectivity, there should be no excuse for any student not to endeavour to learn beyond the classroom. However, to enhance and reap the benefits of learning beyond the classroom, schools and relevant authorities need to create a conducive environment and infrastructure that enable students to access resources (digital and otherwise) to continuously improve their knowledge. Afterall, education is only meaningful if it is able to keep up with the developments in the world of work.
