Award-winning gospel musician, Perez Musik, believes the country’s education system should place greater emphasis on disciplines beyond science and mathematics, arguing that the arts, fashion, culinary arts and other creative fields are equally important to national development.

Speaking on The Career Trail on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, Perez Musik acknowledged the excitement surrounding the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), but questioned the extent to which the country celebrates science and mathematics at the expense of other areas of education.

“The NSMQ is amazing. The whole euphoria around it is fine, but for me, I don’t really see the big deal about it,” he said.

According to him, education is much broader than science and mathematics, with various disciplines contributing to the development of a nation.

“I believe that the education system is broad, and it’s just broader beyond science and maths alone. The arts are there, the visual arts are there, and building a nation demands a combination of all these things,” he explained.

 “So if we are just going to focus on boarding schools just for science and maths, what about the people in the fashion industry? What about the people in the visual arts and everything? What are we doing for them?” he asked.

He stressed the need for greater encouragement for young people who have an interest in creative and vocational fields, arguing that these areas can also provide viable career and business opportunities.

“Home economics, especially the cooking, I mean, right now it’s a big deal. People are running restaurants and things, making big money,” he highlighted.

“There’s events going on every weekend across the country. If you go to school and you learn some of these things, event organisation, publicity, I mean, I feel it’s broader,” he added.

Perez Musik, therefore, called for a broader approach to education that recognises the value of different disciplines and career paths.

“I think we should look at the broader picture,” he concluded.