KUALA LUMPUR – Educationist group Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) has urged the government to boost the usage of English in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, in line with the aspirations of Budget 2024.
Following the announcement of a cross-ministerial STEM Special Committee in the Budget tabling yesterday, PAGE chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim underscored the importance of giving schools autonomy to develop the Dual Language Programme (DLP).
The DLP is a mode of learning which promotes the usage of both English and Bahasa Malaysia, allowing students to learn subjects in either language or both.
She said this was to boost the teaching of STEM subjects, as well as feed the envisioned digital, innovation and artificial intelligence (AI) talent pool.
Azimah also expressed her wish for the Education Ministry to elevate the English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) – which oversees the DLP – from a unit to a full department.
She also wished the ELTC to be empowered with the necessary authority to expand English as the language of technology, aiming to draw more foreign direct investments in the future.
While favouring the idea of the cross-ministerial committee, Azimah also suggested it be headed by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM).
“We would like to know in detail the plans to boost STEM, as well as the setting up of the task force and the allocation that would be given,” she told Scoop.
Azimah said this is because ASM is in dire need of talent in the sector, which amounts to about one million individuals, based on figures by the statutory body.
The onus of acquiring the talents should be on the Higher Education Ministry, with the support of the Education Ministry, she added.
While tabling Budget 2024 yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the establishment of a cross-ministerial STEM Special Committee to increase the participation of high school students in the stream.
In order to empower STEM, the government also allocated RM100 million for the maintenance and upgrading of schools’ computer labs, as well as the acquisition of new equipment for learning. – October 14, 2023