President Donald Trump signed a memo Monday dedicating $200 million per year to STEM education.
The grant funds, administered by the Department of Education, will primarily bolster coding and computer science courses, reported Fox Business.
Special adviser to the president Ivanka Trump will meet with technology executives from Facebook, Google, and Amazon Tuesday in Detroit, where the parties will reveal private sector initiatives to boost these educational programs.
The Trump administration termed technology and science “more important than ever” for modern vocations.
“Given the growing role of technology in American industry, it is vital our students become fluent in coding and computer science, with early exposure to both,” Ivanka Trump said, in a statement obtained by Recode.
Only 40 percent of American high schools boast computer science courses, and while 71 percent of new STEM jobs are computing-based, only 8 percent of STEM graduates have a computer science degree, according to a Code.org report. The study also found that students who take computer science courses in high school are six times as likely to pursue a degree in it than those who do not.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the Department of Education for comment, but received none in time for press.
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