PUTRAJAYA: In an effort to tackle the decrease in students enrolling in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects at schools, the education ministry has implemented several measures.
Although she didn’t provide specifics about the measures implemented, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek stated that the ministry is dedicated to guaranteeing these steps yield beneficial results in the coming years.
I am convinced that every intervention will produce positive outcomes and showcase the capability of our educators in tackling this matter with greater effectiveness.
“We won’t abandon these efforts,” she stated to journalists during a press briefing held here.
Earlier interventions aimed at improving students’ declining performance in Bahasa Malaysia and History showed effectiveness according to Fadhlina, as evidenced by the improved outcomes in the 2024 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results.
A week ago, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad voiced his worries about the decreasing enthusiasm for STEM fields and how this might affect the number of prospective medical students down the line.
He mentioned that even though over 14,000 students obtained perfect scores in the 2024 SPM exam, there has been a clear decrease in enthusiasm for the science stream.
Statistics released by the education ministry in 2021 highlighted a notable disparity between the number of students registered for humanities courses and those opting for technical fields.
In 2019, a total of 42,257 students were registered for Upper Form 6 humanities courses, whereas only 4,877 opted for the science track. By 2020, the number of students pursuing sciences had decreased to 3,853.