WAAW Foundation Baseline Survey: 89% of Girls Want STEM. Infrastructure Isn’t Ready.

In July, our team went into schools across all six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory. We interviewed girls. We walked through science laboratories. We talked to teachers. We collected data on what girls actually want and what schools can actually deliver.

Eighty-nine percent of the girls we surveyed said they intend to pursue STEM at the tertiary level. An additional 10% said they might. When we asked if they’d join additional STEM programs if opportunities existed, 98% said yes.

This isn’t theoretical interest. This is what girls are telling us they want right now.

But when we assessed the schools themselves, a different picture emerged. All had laboratory rooms. Most had equipment. Yet only about one-third of girls reported having practical lessons weekly. The rest had them biweekly, monthly, or not at all. The average school readiness score was 58 out of 100. About half the schools fell into low readiness. The others split between moderate and high.

When we asked girls what’s stopping them, the answers were direct: inadequate learning materials, limited practical lessons, poor teaching quality. Other barriers included lack of suitable devices, insufficient training, cost, poor internet connectivity, family discouragement, distance, and household duties.

On digital skills, most girls could use smartphones and browse the internet. Fewer could use computers regularly. Yet their strongest interests were in artificial intelligence, followed by graphic design, coding, cybersecurity, and robotics.

The data points to a clear reality: girls want STEM. Schools aren’t equipped to deliver it.

WAAW Foundation conducted this baseline survey in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology and with the support of the FCT Secondary Education Board. These findings show exactly where investment and intervention need to happen to make Nigeria’s National Policy on Science and Technology Education a reality for girls.

The full report is available here.

For more information:

WAAW Foundation
info@waawfoundation.org
www.waawfoundation.org