SAMARAHAN: Some 200 educators from both primary and secondary schools in Kuching district took part in the ‘Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Colloquium 2018 Sarawak Zone’ held at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) here, yesterday.
State Minister of Education, Science, and Technological Research, Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong was the guest-of-honour.
In his speech, Manyin stressed that interest towards STEM subjects – science and mathematics – should start from a young age and that primary schools throughout the state should put special emphasis on it.
“Primary schools often do not get as much attention as secondary schools in terms of trained teachers, facilities, infrastructure and allocation.
“That’s part of the reason why many primary schools are neglected. Some have seen decline in student enrolment. Some old schools have become dilapidated.
“Some primary schools have no choice but to place teachers who are trained to teach specific subjects to teach other subjects they are not trained in.
“If a subject is not taught in the proper way, it can cause the students to lose interest in it and that is the case with science and mathematics,” he said.
Manyin added the colloquium hoped to address the issue at primary school level.
Meanwhile, in relation to STEM, he said his ministry has been working on improving the level of proficiency of English among students in Sarawak.
“English has been given special emphasis due to its global demand and mastery of the language can prepare students to be globally competitive.
“Undeniably, the challenge for STEM in Sarawak today is on how to propel the economy to greater heights and how it will directly benefit the people.
“The Sarawak Government realises its importance and is fully committed to developing the digital economy so that we can remain relevant and competitive,” he said.
