High time Putrajaya addresses declining interest in STEM subjects, says Dr Annuar

SIBU: It is high time the federal government takes drastic measures to address the lack of interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects among students, said Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee.

The Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development said he is happy the federal government is looking into the issue.

“In Sarawak, 55.4 per cent of non-option teachers are teaching science subjects at primary schools.

“A non-option teacher is one who is not trained to teach subjects. Furthermore, most science option teachers are in the town areas, depriving rural students of such opportunity,” he said yesterday.

He also pointed out the lack of proper facilities to teach science in schools across the state.

“Some of these facilities are in very bad condition. And it is sad to note some schools do not even have a science lab. In certain schools, although they have labs, the apparatuses and other science equipment are not available. Basically, the labs are nonfunctioning.

“All these contribute to low interest among students in taking up STEM subjects, beside the low performance in STEM subjects in public examinations,” he said.

Dr Annuar stressed that science subjects require hands-on learning to increase understanding.

“As for the rural areas, a mobile lab can be used in a bid to cover more rural schools.

“The Sarawak government has approved to build our own common science labs to be used by all schools at each district level. We can't wait for the federal government to address the lack of science labs,” he said.

He also suggested MoE provide special incentives or critical allowance to science teachers – a measure used in the medical field following the shortage of doctors and nurses in the country.

“Teachers teaching maths and science are urged to work hard. On the part of MoE, they need to increase the recruitment of maths and science teachers.

“The intervention programme to increase option teachers (Pito) is a stopgap measure, and the federal government should come up with more long-term solutions to address this pressing issue,” he said.

Dr Annuar said cultivating an interest in science subjects should start as early as Primary 4.

He suggested schools should not practise selective entry into the science stream if students qualify.

“Some schools discourage their students into STEM because they want to maintain their pass rate,” he said.

Dr Annuar was commenting on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim telling Parliament yesterday that the decreasing interest among Malaysian students in STEM is worrying.

“There is a decrease in interest among students in STEM. This is worrying and the Education Ministry has taken several measures including urging parents to refocus on Mathematics and Science,” he said during Prime Minister's Question Time.