PRESENTLY our educationists and other stakeholders are worried about the low uptake and attitude of students towards mathematics and science studies, especially at tertiary institutions.
Our universities created to focus on sciences have been forced to diversify as a result of the low uptake of science subjects.
Indeed the rapidly declining interest in mathematics and science subjects needs to be urgently addressed. 
But the solution requires more than just wanting to make it a must for every student to possess mathematics before enrolling in our tertiary institutions.
The problem of low uptake of science subjects lies not in our students.
It lies in us the stakeholders.
Obviously something must be done as a matter of urgency as the trend spells disaster for industry and the economy in general.
We do not want to end being the highly educated nation that relies on outside skills when it comes to issues that require advanced scientific skills.
What needs to be done are more than calls of making it a must to have mathematics, but create systems that will see our children taking up these subjects because they are fascinated by and enjoy them.
Our universities and other institutions that should be hubs of sciences are failing to attract students to their faculties of computer science, information systems, software engineering, electrical engineering or IT for a number of reasons.
The lack of interest in mathematics and science can largely be attributed to a lack of support and encouragement from teachers or parents, a majority of whom are not in a position to teach these subjects and make them appealing to students.
The brain-drain the country experienced at the height of our economic difficulties saw the country losing a massive number of qualified personnel.
And as a result there is a serious lack of qualified technical educators in our education system.
We currently have many science and mathematics teachers with poor subject knowledge and have resorted to teaching by repetition, a system that cannot build love and a deep understanding of the subjects.
And because learners are not being exposed to the full knowledge they have developed a poor attitude towards the subjects.
Lack of resources, especially in rural schools is another reason why we have numbers of students keen to do these subjects continue to decline.
For science subjects to be fully grasped they require laboratories and equipment that many of our schools, which are finically hamstrung, are not in a position to purchase.
There is need to illustrate certain concepts to students practically and without the apparatuses to do so the effort is futile.
Government must increase support to schools through upgrading teachers and placing emphasis on mathematics and science professions during career guidance programmes to inspire students.
And schools must seriously consider engaging retired maths and science teachers for help.
Students must fully grasp subjects like mathematics from an early age and not just make an effort to understand the subject late in their schooling years because they require it just to gain entrance to university.
Students must understand the subjects in a way that their grades will be able to carry them through their tertiary careers.
Currently we have students that pass mathematics just because they cram a few concepts that they soon forget after the examination and these will never take up science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies.
It is not a lie that there are parents and teachers in our schools that know little or nothing about careers in ICT and other scientific fields and as a result students who may have the interest and aptitude are not supported and encouraged.
Thus even before we concentrate on the students we need to educate parents and teachers on the value of these subjects for these determine whether the learners will have a positive or negative attitude towards the subjects.