Professor Joel Obo Eriba, the Provost of the Federal College of Education in Odugbo, has offered a solution to increase the number of students enrolling in science courses at universities in Nigeria. In a lecture at Benue State University’s College of Health Sciences, Eriba addressed the problem of low science enrollments. His talk, titled “Improving Science Enrolment in Nigeria’s Institutions of Higher Learning Using the Persuasive Communication Model (PCM),” captivated the audience.
Eriba highlighted the ongoing issue of fewer students choosing science courses despite a national policy that aims for a 60:40 ratio favoring sciences. He used Benue State University as an example, noting that when it opened in 1992, there were no students enrolled in science courses, compared to 380 in Arts and Social Sciences.
He attributed this trend to students’ negative attitudes toward science, which leads them to avoid the subject. Eriba proposed the Persuasive Communication Model (PCM) as a solution, explaining that it has been effective in changing attitudes in other areas.
Based on his research with 1,840 junior secondary school students across 44 schools in Benue State, Eriba demonstrated that PCM could successfully improve students’ attitudes toward science.
The Vice Chancellor of Benue State University, Professor Tor Joe Iorapuu, praised Eriba’s research and emphasized the importance of PCM in addressing the issue of low science enrollments.
