PETALING JAYA: The 2023/2024 faculty session has seen the bottom enrolment numbers in the historical past of college students choosing the Science stream in Form Four, with just some 62,250 out of about 415,000 Form Three college students nationwide selecting it.
Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslim Malaysia president Mohd Azizee Hassan attributed the issue to the truth that many college students don’t obtain a robust sufficient foundation in Mathematics and primary sciences throughout their early schooling.
“This makes it troublesome for them to know extra advanced ideas in pure science topics on the secondary degree, which is why they decide out of the stream.”
He stated in 1967, the Higher Education Planning Committee set a objective to make sure the nation has human sources in the science discipline, with 60% of faculty college students required to enrol in the science stream.
Mohd Azizee stated if the present development persists, it’s going to impression the 60% coverage objective of college students choosing pure science, which encompasses Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) topics.
He stated many college students battle with pure science topics corresponding to Physics, Biology and Chemistry resulting from a weak foundation in Mathematics and Science, ensuing in them being unprepared and unsuitable for the science stream.
The emphasis on higher-order considering abilities (HOTS) in examinations has elevated over time, requiring college students to have interaction in extra advanced problem-solving, essential considering and analytical reasoning, which add to their problem.
He stated college students with weak foundational data in Mathematics and Science discover such topics significantly difficult, which additional discourages them from selecting the Science stream.
“The complexity of HOTS-based examinations may be intimidating and make college students really feel overwhelmed by the necessity to perceive the content material and the need of making use of it in subtle methods.
Mohd Azizee stated different international locations have adopted hands-on and experimental educating strategies, that are extra participating and foster a scientific mindset.
“But we’re nonetheless counting on examination-oriented studying which is outdated.
“Updating our educating strategies may make science topics extra interesting and accessible to college students. High-quality educating could make a big distinction in college students’ curiosity and efficiency in Science topics.”
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) tutorial growth director Assoc Prof Dr Suriyani Ariffin stated investing in the coaching and growth of STEM lecturers is essential to deal with the decline in enrolment.
“Integrating extra sensible and interesting STEM purposes into the curriculum is significant. This strategy makes studying extra related and fascinating for college kids by displaying them how STEM ideas apply in real-world conditions.”
Suriyani stated universities have seen an identical development, with a big lower in the enrolment of college students in engineering programmes over the previous decade.
Engaging college students in community-based engineering initiatives to unravel real-world issues and strengthening ties with trade to make sure curriculum relevance and job readiness are additionally essential parts of this adaptive strategy to studying.
“This difficulty must be tackled successfully, because the impression on the range of engineering programmes can be vital.
“Universities would possibly decide to lower the quantity of specialised engineering programmes resulting from declining enrolment and prioritise extra mainstream disciplines as a substitute, inflicting the nation to lose out,” she stated.
