Re-think teaching of science
THERE have been disturbing reports about the decline in the number of students doing science in schools. Though the government has earlier set the ratio of science to arts students at 60:40 as a matter of policy, the actual ratio is much lower.
Some are saying it may be more like 20:80 in favour of the arts. At the rate things are shaping up, it will be a tough challenge for the government to increase the number of research scientists and engineers (RSEs) in the country. The government target of 60 RSEs per 10,000 members of the national workforce by 2020 does not look achievable.
This can have serious repercussions for the country moving forward. This is because scientific and technological innovation has been identified as one of the key features of Malaysia’s development in the coming years. The handling of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects calls for serious rethinking. How can we address this?
Ask any student what would be their preferred profession. Or for that matter, ask any parent what they want their children to be. There is a good chance that neither will recommend a career in science. They would instead rather go for finance, communication, legal or business courses. Not science. Why is this so? Why is science unattractive?
Well, experts have offered many reasons for the declining interest in science. Top of the list is the fact that a career in science does not pay as well. It is not lucrative. Scientists, for example, do not stand a chance of becoming CEOs of big corporations. But studies have also shown there is more to it than that. One factor contributing to the growing disinterest in science is that science is widely viewed as a complicated course. It is uninteresting and difficult to master.
But the question is why is it complicated now and not previously? In the past, there was no difficulty getting students to join the science stream. In fact, in the early years, the country was able to attract many to study science. Some were disappointed when told they did not qualify to join the science class. So is it the teaching methods that are putting students off science nowadays? Or is it to do with the facilities for science?
Many countries have introduced new approaches to teaching science. In France, for example, their inquiry based science education (IBSE) is proving to be a hit among students. China is also implementing its own IBSE model. They call it the “handsbrain” programme. In the United States, their K12 model has also shown positive signs of success.
All such programmes are based on the use of practical approaches to explain and describe scientific theories and phenomena. Which is why recent reports of some schools in Malaysia not having suitable science laboratories are very disturbing. This does not augur well for teaching science. It can further negate the national target to increase the number of scientists to support the nation’s transformation agenda.
Under the government’s economic restructuring programme, as outlined in the recent review of the 11th Malaysia Plan, STEM has been identified as a key element of the nation’s agenda to venture into the digital economy. This cannot be achieved without the necessary critical mass of scientific talent. With declining interest in pursuing science as a career, the country may face difficulties competing in a global economy that is increasingly led by science and innovation.
Already the plantation sector has expressed concern over the lack of human capital in agriculture, especially agronomists, microbiologists and fertiliser chemists. An acute shortage in taxonomists has also been reported. Taxonomists have important roles to play in developing and harnessing the country’s biodiversity wealth. Even in the area of mathematics, there are very few takers. Yet the command of mathematics is essential in almost all fields of science. In the developed countries, professionals in biotechnology, bioinformatics, ICT and computational biology have good grounding in mathematics.
It is high time we urgently resolve this talent issue in science. It is encouraging to know that the government has recently announced a review of the country’s education policy. In relation to science, the review should seriously look at the policy to train science teachers in the country.
Often, the teaching of science is not the preferred vocation of many would be teachers. It is more like their last choice.
Some take up the option while waiting for a better job opportunity. As a result, there have been rampant cases of teachers not taking classroom teaching seriously. It has been widely reported that some teachers even do not cover the full syllabus in class. Instead, students have been persuaded to attend expensive tuition classes to make up whatever has been left out in the classroom. Such practice gives a bad name to those teachers who are more committed and passionate about teaching.
We may want to take a cue from some countries that have been more successful in attracting the best brains to take up the teaching of science.
Our neighbour Singapore has successfully attracted top students to take up the teaching of science by offering them truly lucrative rewards. Apart from the better pay, those who join the programme are also given opportunities to pursue further studies, up to the PhD level.
Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Fellow, Academy of Sciences Malaysia