PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has four times more arts and language teachers compared to science educators which may hamper efforts to produce IR.4.0 talents in line with rising industry demand.
Teacher graduates from Malaysia’s public higher education institutions (IPTAs) in 2019 nearly four times more arts and language subject option graduates compared to STEM subject options, data from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Malaya (UM) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), reveal.
Check out the interactive graphic below to see the types of subject options available at IPTAs in 2021:
The low number of STEM educators is, however, not surprising as fewer students are opting for STEM in the first place, said National STEM Association president Prof Datuk Dr Noraini Idris.
"The scenario now is that after Form Three, there are fewer students taking pure sciences. So, the university also trains fewer STEM teachers based on the supply and demand," she said.
Despite various efforts, the country continues to move even further away from the target ratio of 60:40 science-to-non-science students at the upper secondary school level, she added.
National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Wang Heng Suan said schools are constantly facing a challenge to fulfil the 60:40 ratio, indicating that fewer students are opting for the sciences right now.
In 2010, the ratio of science to non-science students was 48:52 and in 2014, it was 47:53 with 29% of Form Five students enrolled in the pure science stream.
Now, to make matters worse, the number of students applying to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes in universities - including teaching courses - have also been on a steady decline, said Prof Noraini, who is also an adjunct professor at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.
According to the Science Outlook 2017 report, having fewer candidates taking science stream subjects at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level is is shrinking the talent pool entering higher education institutions (HEIs).
"Data from the Education Ministry and Higher Education Ministry shows that only about 80,000 enrolled in STEM-related tertiary courses," said the report produced by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
Some teaching courses even had to be stopped because there were not enough students in schools necessitating the supply of STEM teachers, she added.
It does not help, she said, that there are not many “high quality” candidates signing up for STEM teaching courses.
This, she said, was worrying because quality teachers are crucial in producing employable and passionate STEM talents at school level.
Schools are "feeders" of students who then go on to graduate from higher education institutions and pursue STEM careers.
But the way STEM subjects are taught in schools - often devoid of life examples that students can relate to - is the main reason why more students are opting for arts and humanities instead of the sciences, she said.
Prof Noraini: The government should also create a fun learning environment in schools for STEM subjects and activities.
“When we become an educator, we must be strong in both content and pedagogy. If the teaching technique is good, students will excel,” said Prof Noraini, who is also the UM STEM Centre advisor.
Prof Noraini pointed out that annually, some 447,000 students sit for the Form Three Assessment (PT3) exams but only about 19% qualify and enter into the science stream in Form Four.
The reason, said Prof Noraini, is because STEM subjects are harder and some parents believe there is no future in STEM here in Malaysia.
She noted that besides Petronas, there are not many Malaysian STEM companies with an international presence.
“So, where are our graduates who learn high-end technologies in universities supposed to work? We only have small and medium enterprises (SME) companies that are in STEM,” she said, adding that, government intervention and aid is needed to encourage more students to pursue STEM.
“Exposure and encouragement needs to happen from cradle to career."
The low salaries for those working in laboratories and research must be reviewed as it is one of the main deterrents for parents to send their children to do STEM, she said.
Still, the country should not "give up producing STEM teachers", said Prof Noraini.
What needs to be done instead is to align the contents of the STEM teaching programmes with what the country and world needs as we veer towards IR4.0, she added.
“The government should also create a fun learning environment in schools for STEM subjects and activities,” she added.
Prof Noraini, whose research area of expertise is in STEM, also suggested a Malaysian STEM Institute be set up under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office, similar to the ones in Singapore and Finland.
The institute, comprising all relevant ministries, can be tasked with overseeing and monitoring the country's STEM development issues.
Understanding that the environment, exposure and influence play a part in nudging school students towards the sciences, the National STEM Association has a mentor-mentee programme where those in the industry and university students mentor school students.
“This is to let students know that science is fun and it promises many career pathways.
“There is more to Malaysia’s STEM sector than Petronas and oil and gas. What about agriculture and urban farming that utilises artificial intelligence?
“If they can’t get employed, they can still create their own invention or product and market it,” said Prof Noraini.