The IssueAs Malaysia is heading into a more competitive era of innovation led economic growth, there have been much to say on it preparation to meet this new challenge.
According to a 2012 study* by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (“ASM”) (an agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, “MOSTI”), there is an alarming shortfall of students and professionals involved in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (“STEM”). The study shows that less than 30% of secondary schools students are enrolled in the Science Stream. Of this, an even smaller proportion elects to pursue STEM degrees in tertiary education, and an even fewer ends up in science and technology-based professions. It is estimated that by the year 2020, the nation requires around 500,000 STEM professionals from lab technicians to full-time researchers in all fields of the natural sciences, both in academia and industry. Thus far Malaysia’s stock of STEM professionals is only around 1/10th of that figure, with only a few years to the 2020 deadline. The study had identified that this shortfall is due to the unpopularity of science subjects, which are purported to be difficult to master and less interesting than the humanities. This is compounded by the students’ limited awareness on real world STEM professions such as chemical engineering, bioinformatics, applied mathematics and agronomics. |
Courtesy of our friends from The Royal Institution of Great Britain
|
With this in mind, IFSA was envisioned as a social enterprise that empowers the push towards STEM in the Malaysian society. IFSA and its supporters' goal is to address the nation’s underdeveloped scientific community through projects which encompass secondary and tertiary levels of education.
Note: * Academy of Sciences Malaysia (2012), “Science & Technology Human Capital: A Strategic Planning for Malaysia’s S &T Workforce to Achieve Global Competitiveness by 2020 ”
Note: * Academy of Sciences Malaysia (2012), “Science & Technology Human Capital: A Strategic Planning for Malaysia’s S &T Workforce to Achieve Global Competitiveness by 2020 ”
What we believe
We believe that scientific development in Malaysia is only seen as a practical tool, rather than a bona fide way to discover natural truths.
This leads to education policies which are too functional and therefore uninspiring. The resulting regression on the quality of science and maths education in Malaysian schools are evident of this, which therefrom leads to under-performance in international tests, under-enrollment in universities and the under-supply of STEM professionals in the economy.
We believe that the teaching of science subjects should not be limited to functional texts, but also the philosophy and history behind it. Teachers should be more engaging and encourage deeper discussions within their class, to develop inquisitive and critical minds of future Malaysian leaders.
This leads to education policies which are too functional and therefore uninspiring. The resulting regression on the quality of science and maths education in Malaysian schools are evident of this, which therefrom leads to under-performance in international tests, under-enrollment in universities and the under-supply of STEM professionals in the economy.
We believe that the teaching of science subjects should not be limited to functional texts, but also the philosophy and history behind it. Teachers should be more engaging and encourage deeper discussions within their class, to develop inquisitive and critical minds of future Malaysian leaders.
