Johor education and information committe chairman Aznan Tamin hopes to see more government-linked companies, state-owned companies and private sector to come forward to participate in the environmental sustainability initiatives for schools in the state. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor expects to achieve the target of 60% enrolment among students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) stream by 2028.
State education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin said the number of Form Four students enrolling in the STEM stream in Johor has shown a positive increase within the last two years.
“In 2023, the enrolment percentage of Form Four students in the STEM stream in Johor increased to 45.7% compared to 40.9% in 2022, while until March this year, the percentage was 50.2%.
“This shows that the programmes related to STEM education, implemented by the Education Ministry and the state government, have shown positive and encouraging results,” he added.
Aznan said this in his reply to Hasrunizah Hassan (BN-Pulai Sebatang) during the state assembly meeting held at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar on Tuesday (May 14).
Earlier, Hasrunizah enquired about the current achievement percentage regarding the implementation of STEM education at both primary and secondary school levels. She also wanted to know the expected timeline for the 60% target set for STEM implementation as outlined in the National Education Policy.
Aznan added that the Johor Education Department and the ministry would always strive to develop knowledgeable and skilled human capital for the STEM stream.
“The state government expects the implementation of STEM in Johor to be at 60% by 2028,” he said.
He also said the department and the ministry would continue to improve the effectiveness of STEM education programmes in an effort to provide sufficient talent to make Malaysia a high-tech country in line with the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2021-2030, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) National Policy, and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030).
Aznan added that to empower STEM teaching and learning sessions in the classroom, the Education Ministry collaborated with Yayasan PETRONAS through the Education Policy Planning and Research Division (BPPDP).
He said that the ministry initiated a nationwide effort called the Teacher Ambassador Programme (PDG), administered by Teach For Malaysia (TFM).
Aznan added that TFM plays a role in the development and planning of PDG, which is supported by Petrosains as a STEM Hub provider and is responsible for providing facilities for the teachers to work.
He said the state currently has a total of 142 teacher ambassadors and teacher ambassador participants.
“In addition, the involvement of students in the STEM co-curriculum is also given attention. In 2023, more than 16,000 students were involved in competitions held under the supervision of the ministry at national and international levels.
"STEM activities have also shown encouraging success when a Malaysian team, which included students from Johor, namely SK Bandar Uda 2 and SMK Tinggi Batu Pahat, emerged as overall champions in the World Robotic Olympiad (WRO) 2023 competition in Panama City.
“The competition was participated in by 80 countries, and our team successfully won four gold medals, two silver medals and two excellence awards.
"At the same time, Johor students have also achieved success in the national competition organised by the ministry, becoming the overall champion in the national STEM carnival, the overall runner-up in the national robotics competition, and the overall champion in the science, technology and engineering innovation competition," he said.
