Days after exhorting American students to toil harder at school as children from Bangalore and Beijing are raring to race ahead, President Barack Obama is set to launch a campaign aimed at dramatically improving education in science, technology, engineering and math.

The ‘Change the Equation’ campaign is part of his ‘Educate to Innovate’ drive to raise American students to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade.

Within a year, ‘Change the Equation’ will replicate successful privately-funded programmes in 100 high-need schools and communities, the White House said.

This programme would expand summer science camps for girls, allow more students to engage in robotics competitions, improve professional development for math teachers, increase the number of students that take and pass rigorous Advanced Placement math and science courses.

It would also increase the number of teachers who enter the profession with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) undergraduate degree and provide new opportunities to traditionally under-represented students and under-served communities.

‘Change the Equation’ will also create a state-by-state “scorecard” to highlight areas for state-level improvement and help companies increase the impact of their own engagement in STEM education, the White House said.

It was founded by astronaut Sally Ride, former Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt and Eastman Kodak CEO Antonio Perez, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

With a membership of 100 CEOs and funding of USD 5 million for its first year of operations, ‘Change the Equation’ is in a unique position to meet its three goals of improving STEM teaching at all grade levels; inspire student appreciation and excitement for STEM, especially among women and under-represented minorities; and achieving a sustained commitment to improving STEM education.