Best for StEM to be in English

I REFER to a report by The Star last week which quoted the Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin as saying that we must be a society that sees reason and logic. He said that we needed to move forward and be a “scientific-based” society at the launch of a coding programme.

He was referring to Universiti Malaysia Pahang which came out with a kit to resolve problems related to mass hysteria,

I agree with the minister. We need to look at logic, reason and embrace technological changes instead of being a superstitious-based society, believing in myths and folklore.

I’m not sure if the anti-hysteria kit is effective. It supposedly contains chopsticks, lime, vinegar, pepper spray and formic acid to ward off “evil spirits”.

While the Education Ministry needs to address the mass hysteria issue, it should also emphasise the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the national curriculum which is crucial for the future of our children and country.

Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak mentioned that all the four core subjects that comprise STEM are important for the nation to move forward.

In order to keep up with developed countries, we need to be competitive in STEM subjects as they pervade every aspect of our lives.

STEM is essentially in English and we must realise that there are more benefits learning STEM in the global language.

The Education Minitry’s Dual Language Programme (DLP) allows students to choose and study a subject in either of two languages – Bahasa Melayu (BM) or English.

The programme currently benefits about 300 schools. More efforts should be taken by the authorities to extend DLP nationwide, which in my opinion is feasible and practical.

After all, we have seen the benefits of using the universal language when the Teaching and Learning of Maths and Science in English policy was introduced until it was stopped a few years ago.

Embracing STEM in English is the right way forward to achieve the goals of our economic transformation programmes by 2020.

While there is no denying that English is the global language, local students must also make it a point to be just as proficient in BM and uphold the national language.