Falling short on science students
Published on: Sunday, November 06, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Malaysia needs more talent in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as the nation moves toward a new economy, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau.Science and technology plays a very important role in the progress of nation building, he said, adding that the Government has taken various measures to enhance the use of science and technology to develop the country.He said there was some concern since the number of students taking science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) in the country was still lacking.
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"It is no secret that the ratio of students in Malaysia taking up science has never reached the targeted 60:40 ratio since 1967," he said in conjunction with the prize presentation of The Art of Nation building programme in Suria Mall, here, Saturday."Today, based on the report by the Malaysia Sciences Academy, the percentage of students taking up science in this country is only 21 per cent."Moving forward, we need to bring our research to the market that requires a myriad of players to work hand-in-hand and understand the nuts and bolts of science and commercialisation."We want students to be inspired in Stem so that we have talent to fuel industry and we need the public to support government initiatives on STI and we have to thrive the economy using STI.
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"The Government has already started with a new pedagogy in school – High Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) because it wants the generation to be a generation of thinkers, who are creative and our new source of wealth is going to be our creativity," he said. "To be a developed and prosperous country, the nation's political stability must come hand in hand with our progress in economic development through science and technology," he added.
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Tangau presented the prizes to winners in the Upper Primary, Upper Secondary and Lower Secondary levels.The event was jointly organised by the Society Empowerment and Economic Development of Sabah (Seeds) together with the State Education Department, the Federation of Sabah Chinese Women Associations and the JCI Kota Kinabalu.It was the second time the event was organised since it started last year, aimed at cultivating a sense of nationhood and belonging, encouraging patriotism and instilling loyalty among the young people by creating awareness on national values and the diversity of Malaysian society.The competition, themed "Hari Jadi Malaysia", was held from July to August 2016 and received some 8,283 entrees from various schools throughout the country. Organising Chairperson, who is also Federation of Sabah Chinese Women Associations president as well as a Seeds fellow Dr Pamela Yong, said the reason to target schoolchildren as participants of the Art Competition was to allow them to learn about history and nation-building as these two topics are mainly confined to the ivory tower. She said schoolchildren should be allowed to express their creative and imaginative ways of looking at Malaysia, as the future of the country depends on them."The art of nation-building is not just about the contestants unleashing their artistic skills, but rather also aimed at educating schoolchildren on what is fictional and factual about the formation of Malaysia."For instance, some people refer to 1957 as the year Malaysia was born when the correct year should be 1963," she said.Earlier, the Art of Nation Building (TANB) Art Exhibition was launched by Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Edward Yong.The art exhibition showcased about 400 shortlisted as well as the winning art pieces out of the total pool of 8,283 entries.The art exhibition also saw a corporate social responsibility (CSR) element of the nation building programme whereby the TANB organising committee also raised funds towards the building funds of St Francis Convent Secondary Girls' School. Funds were contributed by Seeds, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Datuk Rahman Dahlan, as well as the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association towards the building of the new school at Bukit Padang.St Francis Convent Secondary Girls' School took home the award for the Secondary School with the highest participation in the nationwide Art of Nation Building Art Competition 2016.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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