Malaysia aims 60% take-up rate for STEM subjects

NEW YORK: Malaysia is targeting to have 60% of its children and young people take up science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and career for the betterment of the country, said Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
He said the country hopes to achieve the ratio of 60:40 for children interested in STEM compared with non-STEM education and careers.
The ratio now is 42:58, an improvement from 25:75 in 2000 following the government's commitment to supporting STEM education, he said when launching the Global STEM Alliance at the United Nations headquarters here yesterday.
"There is a need for us to ensure a new generation of children and young people passionate about STEM education so that they want to choose STEM as a career," he said, adding investment in STEM is about investing in the future.
In substantiating his point, Najib said the government has several initiatives such as the Science to Action (S2A) programme, building up a nobelist mindset and cradle-to-career programmes in the move to enhance the young people's interest in STEM.
The S2A focuses on the intensification of science and technology build-up through education where technological know-how, engineering capabilities, industrial power and knowledge are generated and proliferated.
The government, he said, wanted Malaysians to strive to be a Nobel laureate as it could be the source of inspiration for people to take up STEM fields as a career.
"Even if Malaysia may not produce a Nobel laureate, the whole process involved in striving for the goal will lead to the emergence of a much stronger interest in STEM for a career. However, I hope that one day Malaysia can produce a Nobel laureate," he said.
Najib commended his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, for initiating the gifted and talented kids programme known as Permata Pintar in a move to further promote STEM education.
He said children and young people can be drawn to science through a more interesting method of teaching and learning of the subject.
One way will be to get them involved in actual projects and give them some challenging projects in order to find solutions compared to the top-down approach which "is rather boring", he added.
On women's empowerment in Malaysia, Najib said access to quality education, having no discrimination against women and the introduction of specific policies such as allowing 30% of women in key decision-making bodies in the public and private sectors have enabled women to succeed.
At the same event, Unesco director-general Irina Bokova, commended Malaysia for promoting its science and technology capabilities, saying it had built up such capacity-building through South-South cooperation.
The Global STEM Alliance is an initiative of the New York Academy of Sciences in partnership with over 70 governments, companies, non-governmental organisations, universities and schools aimed at, among others, to help rally global engagement and acceleration of STEM education worldwide. – Bernama