STEM is not for everyone

IT is reported that our country needs at least a million skilled workers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics by the year 2020 (“Rooting for STEM”, The Star,

July 23).

Unfortunately, not enough women are interested in this area.

Despite our country’s urgent needs for such skilled manpower, the relevant knowledge and skills cannot be forced upon learners. Only those who have the right attitude and aptitude should be encouraged to go deep into this discipline. To force the incompetent ones into following this discipline would be counter-productive – creating mediocre scientists and technologists or making their lives difficult at the end of the day.

The subjects Science, Technology and Engineering all require an in-depth knowledge and skill in Mathematics. A person who is weak in Mathematics cannot be expected to be a first-class engineer or scientist. I have seen some of my friends who were weak in Mathematics opting for Biology, Zoology or Botany in the Faculty of Science. Perhaps that is one of the few ways where a student weak in Mathematics can study Science. But then their openings in the working world would be very much restricted.

When I was doing my O-Level, I did Pure Science. Finding that my Mathematics was not sufficient to meet the demand of A-Level Pure Science, I opted for Economics, a component of Social Science. In the end, I succeeded in getting my Social Science degree.

Had I gone straight into Pure Science, I would have experienced a painful life in academic pursuit.

My friend, who was very good at Mathematics, had to take years to master his Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the Higher School Certificate level.

Thus we can encourage but should not force someone to go for STEM. The motive force to study STEM comes from within, not outside, a person. K.K. YONG Ipoh