ABEOKUTA, — A communication scholar at the Crescent University, Abeokuta, Dr Kola Adesina has proposed a new global education framework that could reshape how universities train scientists, engineers, and technologists.
Dr. Adesina, who is the Head of the Department of Mass Communication, unveiled MASHET — an acronym for Mathematics, Arts, Science, Humanities, Engineering, and Technology — as an upgrade to the widely adopted STEM and STEAM models.
The difference is one letter: H for Humanities. But according to Adesina, that letter changes everything.
“STEM and STEAM have produced excellent technical minds over 20 years, but they largely ignored social engineering,” Adesina said in an interview.
“We have graduates who can write code but cannot ask ‘why’ or ‘what is just’. That’s not complete education.”
Adesina developed MASHET after two decades of observation, including his postgraduate training at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.
He noticed that African students often excelled in technical subjects but struggled with critical analysis, ethical reasoning, and communication — skills rooted in the humanities.
His framework doesn’t discard STEM. It completes it.
Under MASHET, engineering students would study narrative ethics alongside circuits.
Technology students would debate the historical consequences of innovation.
Science students would practice persuasive writing with lab reports.
“We are not throwing away STEM. We are centering the human question,” Adesina explained.
“The ‘H’ is not an afterthought. It should be the centre.
In the age of AI, the machine can calculate, but only humans can decide what’s right.”
The proposal comes as global bodies rethink education.
In 2023, UNESCO called for greater integration of social and human sciences into science education.
Adesina says MASHET is Africa’s practical answer to that call.
Early reactions from educators are mixed.
Some hail it as overdue, noting that tech without ethics has led to misinformation, biased algorithms, and societal disruption.
Others worry about diluting focus on technical skills in a competitive job market.
Adesina remains clear on his intent: “I’m a journalism lecturer. I teach people to ask questions. I’m just asking one big question: what did STEM forget? The answer is ‘H’. MASHET puts it back.”
Crescent University, a private institution in Abeokuta, is reviewing how to pilot MASHET-aligned courses.
Adesina says policymakers across Africa have requested details on integration into national curricula.
If adopted, MASHET would position Nigeria as an exporter of education philosophy, not just consumers of Western models.
It would also help to dispel the earlier notion that courses in the humanities are not relevant to global thinking and should be discarded as recently an bounced by the Minister of Education, Mr. Tunji Alausa which is also causing ripples.
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