Many students especially in Ghana have phobia for mathematics. It is one of the most hated subjects at all levels of education from the basic to the tertiary level.
Several studies on the study of mathematics in Ghana such as those by Millicent Darfour and Justice Enu et al have attributed this dislike of mathematics and poor performance in the subject to inadequate teaching and learning materials, poor teaching methodology, low understanding of test items, inadequate coverage of syllabus as well poor communication skills.
Butakor and Dziwornu (2012) also found that other factors fuelling the mathematics phobia and poor performance included the lack of supervision and monitoring of Maths teachers by headteachers and circuit supervisors and large class sizes.
It is, therefore, very rare to find people like the late Prof Francis Kofi Allotey who made a career out of mathematics, particularly people from deprived communities where the factors contributing to the dislike and poor performance in mathematics are even high.
Born in a small fishing rural community, Dunkwa-On-Offin the capital of Upper Denkyira East Municipal District in the Central Region with all the challenges in studying Mathematics, Dr David Yaro has excelled mathematics.
He did not let these challenges which he faced growing up in rural community counter his love for mathematics. His like and ability to solve mathematical problems started since childhood as he solved mathematical problems his peers could not attempt. He developed more interest in maths after readings about Professor Allotey and some other great mathematicians like Gauss Seidel and Isaac Newton.
Dr David’s love for mathematics guided every decision he made throughout his education from the course he studied at the secondary level to his decision to read Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at the University for Development Studies (UDS). His brilliant performance at the UDS allowed him to acquire a second degree in Mathematics; Master of Philosophy in Applied Mathematics at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Having attained his dream of becoming a Mathematician, Dr David’s primary goal was to contribute to academia, particularly in the area of Mathematics in Ghana, and also to apply his expertise in mathematical analysis, designing models and utilizing mathematical software to support system functions and provide bespoke mathematical solutions to improve products of companies. This goal together with his excellent academic performance earned him a scholarship to study Doctor of Philosophy in Control Science and Engineering (Applied Mathematics) at Jiangsu University, China, graduating at the age of 33 years.
Mr Yaro was already added to academia both in Ghana and abroad by teaching several courses in Mathematics such as Statistics, Calculus, Operational Research, Discrete Mathematics and Numerical Methods, Computation, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Applied Calculus, Probability and Stochastic Process and Numerical Analysis, Operations Management, Advance Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics at Jiangsu College for International Education and Overseas Education College at the Jiangsu University both in China and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), BlueCrest University College and the Trans Africa University College all in Ghana.
In terms of academic writing, he has over fifteen scientific publications in prestigious world-class journal hubs such as Springer and Elsevier. Also, his works have been indexed by the Science Citation Index (SCI) and he has reviewed several articles in the Journal of Advances in Mathematics and Computer Science.
Currently, Dr David Yaro teaches Mathematics in Ghana and according to him, the teaching of Mathematics in Ghana was gradually improving although the majority of Ghanaian students at all levels of education were still “scared” of the subject due to the methods used to teaching, the lack of technology in the teaching and the lack of the required materials.
He said one key step that could break the jinx of maths phobia was the use of local languages in the teaching of the subject which he believed would help students develop an interest in the subject.
He urged the government to invest more in mathematics and that other institutions in the field of mathematics have to be empowered to do more research in mathematics.
Ishmael Batoma, ISD
