Mathematics gallery to be setup at science city

Kapurthala: Pushpa Gujral Science City, in association with Himachal Pradesh State Council for Science, Technology & Environment, celebrated National Mathematics Week by organizing on-line workshops and webinars. Around 900 Students from different schools of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab  participated in various events. Sh. Kamlesh Kumar Pant, Principal Secretary, Environment, Science & Technology, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh was the Chief Guest on this occasion.  He said that the HP Govt. was conscious of the need to strengthen teaching of Mathematics in schools as the subject cuts across all other subjects including Science, Engineering, Economics, Commerce, Social Sciences, etc. and was a requisite skill for all. He said that the main objective of organizing this event was to highlight the development, assembly, implementation of teaching and learning materials for mathematics and other related areas in research.

Sh. S.K. Mokhta, Member Secretary and Sh. Nishant Thakur, Joint Member Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology & Environment were the Guests of Honour at this occasion. Sh. Mokhta said that the most important reason to celebrate National Mathematics Day was to raise awareness in people on the importance of mathematics and the integral part it plays in the development of humanity. Sh. Nishant Thakur spoke on the impact of Prof. Srinivas Ramanujan’s work on development of mathematics. He informed that the day is celebrated to commemorate his birthday.

Speaking at the occasion, Director General Science City, Dr. Neelima Jerath informed that PGSC is working to set up a Mathematic Gallery which will have hands-on exhibits on different concepts of Mathematics and will allow the visitors to get involved and experience mathematical phenomena themselves. It will also be helpful in improving the mathematical skills among students, as well as, teachers. Further, she said that as per National Achievement Survey (NAS) conducted by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to assess competency levels in mathematics, only 44% students from class 5 and 32% students from class 8 could respond to questions meant for class-appropriate competencies correctly. Hence, increase in non-formal methods in mathematics education is especially critical at this point of time, not only to help students understand mathematical concepts and apply skills to everyday situations, but also to reduce anxiety of children towards mathematics learning and to kindle their interest in the subject.
 
Dr. Amit Kulshreshta, Associate Professor & Head, Mathematical Sciences, IISER Mohali was the keynote speaker. In his eloquent talk he highlighted that mathematics was much beyond numbers and is related to patterns, formulae and functions. He explained difficult mathematical concepts in very easy terms to the students who evinced a keen interest.
 
Dr. Jaswinder Singh, Lecturer, Department of School Education, Punjab, gave the practical demonstration on understanding math’s using teaching aid kits to students of class 9 to 12 standard on 19th December and class 6 to 8 on 20th December. Sh. Akashdeep Singh, PGSC explained the Great Conjunction and the use of mathematics in Astronomy on 21st December.