KUALA LUMPUR – Government-linked investment corporations (GLICs) and government-linked companies (GLCs) should play a bigger role in strengthening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education which is what the country needs to build a high-skilled workforce, educationists said.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Faridah Mydin Kutty said GLCs and GLICs have a role in spurring the country’s economic growth by using their niche expertise in respective sectors to train and build a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) workforce.
These firms could help the government fund TVET-related programmes by creating institutes to provide education in advanced technology and high-growth and high-value (HGHV) industries.
“They can also diversify their support for TVET graduates by preparing pioneer funds to establish startups.
“The companies can then monitor the operations of the startups, and check if they are earning stable revenue, managing their resources effectively, or are capable of establishing their brands,” Faridah told Scoop.
Low STEM enrolment by students has been a concern as Malaysia aims to be a high-income with a high-skilled workforce
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in March this year told Parliament that Malaysia lack of skilled engineers, due to low interest in STEM subjects, was worrying.
Malaysia’s science to arts ratio among students has been 30:70 for years, despite the government’s target of a 60:40 ratio under the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025.
The Malaysia Productivity Corporation has been reported saying the low interest in these subjects are due, in part, to low salaries offered in related fields of work.
MPC in March said that as of December last year, only 29.6% of the country’s 15.4 million workforce are skilled workers.
Faridah’s suggestions echo Putrajaya’s GEAR-Up programme, which will see PNB and five other leading GLICs collectively invest RM120 billion in domestic direct investments over the next five years, on top of RM440 billion in public market investments under their steady-state investment programmes.
The investments are mainly aimed at HGHV industries, including the energy transition sector and advanced manufacturing – particularly in the semiconductor field. They also cover firms at all stages of development, from start-ups and venture capital to mid-sized companies, intending to eventually support these firms in going public.
By investing in TVET education, GLCs and GLICs benefit in terms of fulfilling their corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations to the public, Faridah added.
Meanwhile, Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairperson Datin Noor Azimah Rahim said GLICs can afford to invest more in higher education by offering scholarships in TVET or STEM.
These firms should exercise meritocracy in awarding scholarships to high achievers, regardless of their race, she added.
The firms themselves stand to benefit from STEM scholarships from getting the right kind of talents that they can recruit upon graduation, she added.
“These students (that want to pursue STEM courses) tend to acquire certain traits such as being more analytical, having a more developed thinking process and are better at solving delicate and problematic situations, which employers look out for.
“In taking such an approach (of awarding scholarships), it may entice more students to pursue the STEM stream, and in time, (they would) perfectly fit the profile of graduates that GLCs and GLICs are in pursuit of,” she added.
The Education Ministry in a parliamentary reply in July this year, said STEM enrolment in schools was improving, and stood at 50.83% for 2024, a 10 percentage point increase from 2019 when it was 41.84%.
The ministry also said that based on engagement sessions, it found that students held views of STEM subjects being difficult and boring, and they were not motivated to study them.- October 26, 2024