The National Mathematical Centre (NMC) Abuja was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria on January 1, 1988 although the decree (Decree No. 40) giving it a legal backing as a corporate body with perpetual succession and a common seal, was not promulgated until December 12, 1989
The Centre was created to develop appropriate initiatives and resources of international standing for reawakening and sustaining interest in the mathematical sciences at all levels in Nigeria, and also as an adequate response to the dramatic decline in the production of teachers and specialists in the mathematical sciences at all levels.
The annual postgraduate output of mathematical scientists in Nigeria is steadily declining. Furthermore, the number of qualified senior secondary school graduates who apply for admission to read mathematical sciences in universities has drastically diminished. At all levels, the dearth of qualified teachers is a long-standing problem which has now become more and more acute especially in the wake of the recent upsurge in student numbers and in the number of educational institutions.
The great concern for this dramatic decline was reflected in the goodwill message of President Ibrahim Babangida on the occasion of the inauguration of the Nigerian chapter of the African Mathematical Union on August 16, 1987, in Lagos. An extract of the message is as follows:
“…Mathematics and the Physical Sciences in general have of late proved to be an area of great hardship. The number of teachers is not rising with the number of students. As a result of this, students seem to be doing less and less well in these subjects. They consequently tend to lose interest. All these in turn, mean that there will be fewer and fewer teachers. A vicious circle is set up and the prospects of scientific and technological development become dim wherever such a circle is firmly established.”
It was finally created after the collective efforts of many notable Nigerians especially mathematicians and learned societies and some initiatives by Professor Abdus Salam who visited Nigeria to show support for the Centre.
General Aims
- Train and develop high level personnel in mathematical sciences, including mathematics, statistics, computer science, and theoretical physics, for Nigerian and African institutions;
- Create a resource centre to serve national and international communities as a focal point for advanced research and training in mathematical sciences and applications;
- Enhance collaboration among mathematical scientists, especially between young Nigerian scientists and other advanced and experienced scientists from within and outside Nigeria;
- Attract good mathematical scientists from all over the world into the service of Nigeria;
- Encourage and support activities leading to the improvement of the teaching and learning of mathematical sciences at all levels;
- Identify and encourage young talents in mathematical sciences;
- Prepare Nigeria for a leading role in mathematical sciences; and
- Tackle national set goals in the development of mathematical sciences.
Vision: To be a world-class institution for training, learning and research in the mathematical sciences and their applications to development.
Core Values
- Service
- Intellectualism
- Optimism
- Transparency
Norms
- Innovativeness
- Enthusiasm
- Motivation
- Equity
- Probity
Mission
- To continually develop and deploy cutting-edge resources for training, learning and research in the mathematical sciences.
- To identify, motivate, inspire and train the next generation of experts in the mathematical sciences at all levels of the education.
- To apply the mathematical sciences to solve societal problems and foster wealth creation.
Mandate
- Train and develop high-level personnel in mathematical sciences, including mathematics, statistics, computer science and theoretical physics, for Nigerian and African institutions;
- Create a resource centre to serve national and international communities as a focal point for advanced research and training in mathematical sciences and applications;
- Enhance collaboration among mathematical scientists, especially between young Nigerian scientists, and other advanced and experienced scientists from within and outside Nigeria;
- Identify and encourage young talents in mathematical sciences;
- Stimulate enthusiasm for the physical sciences in young Nigerian students and scholars;
- Prepare Nigeria for a leading role in mathematical sciences;
- Attract good mathematical scientists from all over the world into the service of Nigeria;
- Encourage and support activities leading to the improvement of the teaching and learning of mathematical sciences at all levels;
- Provide facilities for scientific conferences and the publication of the proceedings arising therefrom;
- Tackle national set goals in the development of mathematical sciences;
- Conduct series of specialized lectures or courses, for the purpose of upgrading postgraduate students in the field of mathematical sciences to a level where they can begin to understand research papers and seminars;
- Conduct series of research lectures for advanced postgraduate as well as post-doctoral and other participants, based on a se t of pre-assigned research papers, with the objective of generating questions that would be collated, discussed and used to deter mine new research directions for the participants;
- Conduct seminars, workshops and symposia in such areas as the Academic Board of the Centre may, from time to time, determine or plan;
- Establish and execute a visiting programme for mathematical scientists, under which mathematical scientists can visit the Centre for short periods, to work on their individual research problems using the Library, Computing and other facilities of the Centre; and
- Perform such other functions that are related to those set out in this section and do such other things as are, in the opinion of the Council, necessary or expedient for carrying out the functions of the Centre under this Act.
For more info, visit www.nmc.edu.ng
