A Push to Realize the Ambition

STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) has been an area under education which has witnessed widespread hesitation from a gender perspective and there has been a global effort to enhance gender inclusiveness. On a national front, the educators believe that STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators and innovation leads to new products and processes that sustain the economy. The STEM For Girls Program is aimed to help in this regard and one such program is launched in Telangana state of India. Classes are held two days a week and some students are also engaged through phone calls. It has been observed that students eagerly wait for the STEM classes and both boys and girls have been more interested to learn new things.

One of the impact stories of the program is of Sudheshna who is pursuing 10th grade in TSMS, Ibrahimnagar village of Siddipet district. Before being introduced to the STEM For Girls Program, she had no clarity about her studies, but her ambition was to be a good player and work on software, but she had stage fear. She did not have good communication skills, and hesitated to interact in social groups. Although she shared an ambition, she was confused and unclear of the ways to fulfill them which made her quite anxious.

After introducing the STEM For Girls Programme in her school, she’s learned a lot by attending her classes. She has worked on her communications skills and practiced talking to others. She gained clarity of her career and was selected by the Codeathon program conducted by Quest Alliance. One of her favorite classes in STEM was ‘Interactions’ because she learned more by role model interactions. She has now participated in many programs in her school. She no longer has stage fear and she has been selected to represent in District and State level volleyball competitions.

Her parents shared their opinion, “After introducing the STEM program in our daughter’s school, we felt delighted by observing so many improved qualities in our daughter. Before the STEM Programme, after SFG, a lot of changes were seen in her as she seemed to have gained more knowledge. She has convinced us to allow her to study higher education. She wants to become a Software Engineer and a volleyball player. We felt delighted that our daughter has taken the correct decision and is moving forward in a good way”.

Her teachers share that she is an inspiration to all other students. They also add that the STEM for Girls program is very useful not only for girls, but this program has been helpful for boys as well. They are pleased to see that the program touches upon life skills, career skills, creative thinking, problem-solving, gender, digital literacy, and coding which are essential for every student’s life. Through STEM education, students learn facts and a method of thinking that can be applied to solve real-world problems.