KUCHING: Only 19% of all students in Sarawak qualify for the science stream when they enter Form 4.
Minister of Education, Science and Technology Research, Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong disclosed this when officiating the State-Level National Science Week 2018 at the Sarawak State Library, Petra Jaya here yesterday.
According to Manyin, when it comes to Form 5, the number may be less than 10% and when it comes to the university, it maybe less than 5%.
“This is the scenario and reality today. So if that is the reality, how are we going to face the challenges that come from Industry 4.0?.
“How are we going to face the reality? How are we going to compete with our neighbours – Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and so on?” he asked.
Singapore, he said, was among the highest in terms of achievement for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Manyin said Singapore had 85% achievement for STEM compared to Sarawak which only had 19%.
“This is the challenge for us all because the moment we are without students in Form 4, Form 5 and Form 5 in the science stream, we are not going to make anything at the end of the day.
“ The National Science Week programme was organised by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia (MOSTI) with the aim of raising awareness on the importance of science, technology and innovation at all levels of the society.”
Manyin said thousands of graduates from public universities were still jobless.
He said the perception among students, parents and the public was that science was a very difficult subject.
“This is the perception that science is not for Bumiputeras and science is not for rural students and so science is meant for only a small group of people in the town and for the affluent society,” he said.
Manyin added: ”If we want to focus on STEM, we cannot neglect the English language because almost all books on the digital economy, industrial revolution and robotics and so on are written in English.
“That is why we in the Ministry will be focusing our attention on English and STEM,” he added.
Speaking at the event, MOSTI’s Deputy Secretary General (Science, Technology & Innovation), Prof Madya Dr Ramzah Dambul said the government‘s effort to make STEM subjects more appealing to the younger generation should be echoed by all those involved in the education of the young people.
“This is important to ensure that the country has sufficient knowledgeable and skilled human capital who are capable of advancing the field of global technology as Malaysia becomes a developed nation by 2050,” he added.
Meanwhile, at a press conference later, Manyin disclosed that the state would be putting up a formal request to MOSTI to set up a Science Centre in Sarawak.
“If they agree, we hope to put it near the Civic Centre because one of the requirements is that it must have a hostel so that the boys and girls from the rural areas can actually stay there and, at the same time, participate in the activities,” he said.
“We hope to see this (Science Centre) within the next two to three years,” he disclosed.
