What was considered an extracurricular is not anymore!

When we refer to STEM education, it’s not just coding and programming computer programs. It is providing the foundation for food production, health care, pharmaceuticals, engineering, architecture, astronomy and so much more that frankly we might take for granted but surely can’t live without. Smartphones in our pockets are one big example of this. Stem is not just a side activity anymore which people do for fun or to pass time. Gone are the times when only medical and law were considered as high paying and honorable professions.

These days the young generation is making breakthroughs in their career choices and opting for professions like game development and cyber security. An inspiring example of this is Arjun Kumar, a young kid hailing from India. He was only 12 years old when he created an app named, The Ez school Bus Locator, to help parents locate the location of their child’s bus and to receive alerts on students boarding and deboarding the school bus.

The app ensured the safety of kids. Later he won the MIT App Inventor International Competition. He is also working on the release of iSafeGuard, a community based personal safety app for women and child safety. Arjun is giving qualified app developers of the world a run for their money.

Stem education has now revolutionized the whole world. It has done such wonders that if people from past life were to be born again in the 21st century they would think they came into a magical world. Because the inventions we see today were only a fantasy in their dreams. As Arthur Clark states:

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic”

We see from educational sectors to agriculture, hospitals and food manufacturing, stem has become an integral part of our lives.

Now let me give you an example of this. The 2019 Pandemic revealed the fragility of our system. Everything shifted online. The health sector was affected by it the most. It was then the digital medical examination came to the rescue of humanity. Globally in 2018 the digital health market was worth $88 billion but now by 2025 it is expected to grow over $500 billion. Professionals are now taking the help of technologies like Artificial Intelligence to not only enhance our daily lives but also to take human intelligence to the next level.

Stem education has opened a new door to employment and job opportunities. It is now not absurd to think of game development as a career. Gaming companies like Mojang Developers and PUBG corporation are ruling over the teenage world and earning millions of profits because of their games Minecraft and PUBG respectively. Even Pakistani companies such as Frag games and Mindstorm studios are constantly looking for more game developers who can market them well.

There are so many more examples that I can quote which’ll turn into a book but the list is never ending. It is only a matter of a few years when every aspect of our life will be soon surrounded by digitalization.

Unfortunately, our current curriculum doesn’t fit with the latest trends. Students are still studying concepts that are 10,11 years old. Even a 12th grader only studies a few basic computer functions in their curriculum. The IT sector is not progressing as it should. Meanwhile in different countries students are doing coding and game development at an early age. Educational institutes are building robotics labs and giving programming classes to their students. Whereas China is giving their students an early exploration of AI education and slowly taking over the technology.

Now where does this situation put us? If we measure our educational success rate with them we’ll see how far behind we are from them. And unfortunately, we do not realize how much we are missing out.

It’s high time that we start paying more attention to this matter and give our kids the opportunity to shape their futures. Stem education is not just taking control over technologies, it’s about equipping them with some real world skills that will help them academically and professionally. Even if your child does not pursue careers in stem fields, they will still need some necessary literacy in these areas otherwise it would be difficult for them to embrace change and make a decent living. So don’t miss out on any opportunities and give your child the best future they deserve.