Steps taken to improve STEM interest in schools, says Fadhlina

 The education minister says she is confident the interventions will yield results in the future.

Education minister Fadhlina Sidek said earlier interventions to address declining student performance in Bahasa Malaysia and History proved effective in the 2024 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia results.

PUTRAJAYA:

 The education ministry has carried out various interventions to address the decline in students taking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in schools.

Though she did not elaborate on the actions taken, education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the ministry is committed to ensuring they produce positive outcomes in the years ahead.

“I am confident each intervention will yield results and reflect the strength of our teachers in addressing this issue more effectively.

“We will not give up on these efforts,” she told reporters at a press conference here.

Fadhlina said earlier interventions to address declining student performance in Bahasa Malaysia and History proved effective in the 2024 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results.

Last week, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad expressed concern over the declining interest in STEM subjects and its potential impact on the supply of future medical students.

He said that despite more than 14,000 students achieving straight A’s in the 2024 SPM examination, interest in the science stream had noticeably declined.

Education ministry statistics from 2021 revealed a significant gap between students enrolled in the humanities and those in technical streams.

A total of 42,257 students were enrolled in Upper Form 6 humanities classes in 2019, compared with 4,877 in the science stream. The number of science students dropped in 2020 to 3,853. - FMT