Sarawak lagging behind in STEM subjects
SERIAN: The so called ‘out of field’ teaching – teaching a subject without any specific training in it – is one of the key reasons behind the state’s very poor performance in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin observes this scenario in Sarawak, pointing out that if it continued to have high number of unqualified teachers teaching Science and Mathematics, this would certainly not be good for the future of the state.
“I have been briefed by the state Education director that sometimes, the teachers who were trained in Bahasa Melayu are forced to teach Mathematics and those proficient in English are forced to teach the Science subject.
“This is not good, especially at primary school level because when the children are taught the wrong methods, their interest in the subjects is already killed,” he said at the launch of the division-level ‘Education Colloquium’ at the civic centre here yesterday.
Manyin believed that upon entering Form 1, these children had no interest in Mathematics and Science and because of this, they could not study the subjects well throughout the lower secondary level; as a result, they would not able to enter the Science Stream in Form 4 and Form 6.
He stressed that unlike other subjects, nobody could excel in Mathematics and Science if they had no knowledge from the beginning.
“I can take my own case as an example. I never studied Commerce in Form 4, because there was no such subject.
“However, I took Economics in Form 6 and made it all the way to university and became a graduate in Economy. But nobody can ever do that for Mathematics and Science.”
Manyin said it would be impossible for students to study Medicine without having good knowledge in the Chemistry and Biology subjects; the same would apply to those wishing to study engineering – they could not do it without good command in Additional Mathematics.
According to the minister, the present STEM performance among students in Sarawak stands at only 23 per cent versus the national target of 60 per cent.
“To improve the state’s performance in STEM, my ministry would get trainers to help (students) in the key subjects.