Focus on acquiring skills and knowledge, young Sarawakians told

SRI AMAN: Young Sarawakians are told to focus on acquiring skills and knowledge to enable them to contribute to social well-being and nation-building.

Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin, in giving this advice yesterday, said having paper qualifications would not guarantee employment in the face of a change of market needs.

“We make sure our boys and girls do not get just paper qualifications but employment after they finish Form 6 or university level.

“People in western countries are not bothered whether you have Masters or PhD degrees when you want to get a job. People are now paid based on contributions.

“They don’t look at your paper qualifications any more but they want to know whether you can contribute with your knowledge and skills,” he said before Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg launched the 48th state-level Teachers’ Day celebration at the civic centre here yesterday.

Manyin added that gone are the days when people placed emphasis on intelligence quotient (IQ).

He said IQ might determine how far one could go in terms of academic achievements but it would not necessarily make one succeed in life.

“In today’s world, not only is IQ vital but emotional quotient (EQ), social quotient (SQ) and adversity quotient (AQ) are equally important. Certain individuals may have high IQ but without EQ, SQ and AQ, they may fail miserably in the real world.”

Manyin thus called upon teachers in Sarawak to enhance their proficiency in the English language to better prepare the young ones for challenges in the near future.

He believed that with a better command of English, young Sarawakians would stand a higher chance to succeed at the global level.

He said English was still the preferred ‘communication tool’ across the world, and hence mastering the language would be critical for young Sarawakians to compete with their counterparts worldwide.

He also urged teachers and parents to play a role to inculcate interest of Science, Technology, English and Mathematics (STEM) subjects into the young minds.

He even noted that the performance of Sarawak in STEM subjects ‘is rather low’.

“Last year, it was 23.2 per cent. Today, it’s about 24 per cent. This means that about 24 per cent of our boys and girls will be qualified for science classes in Form 4.

“When it comes to Form 6, it will be even less. And for university level, it will be only 10 per cent left. If this is the situation, we may not be able to face Industrial Revolution 4.0,” added Manyin.