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COMMENT Despite pumping approximately RM40 billion into the Education Ministry yearly and four years of policy tinkering since the launch of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013-2025), Malaysia’s improvement in education quality has been lacklustre.

The recently released results for the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2015) showed Malaysia has scored 465 in mathematics and 471 in science. Nations worldwide have scored an average of 500 points.

According to TIMMS, the last time we showed a better-than-average capability in mathematics and science was back in 2003. Since then, 13 years have lapsed, with three education ministers, three Malaysia Plans, one National Transformation Agenda and three general elections.

In other words, much has changed in our education landscape, but our tepid TIMMS results speak volumes about the lost opportunities (the disastrous implementation of the PT3, Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3, system), misguided policies (the flip-flop in PPSMI, Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik Dalam Bahasa Inggeris), costly programmes (1BestariNet, which is estimated to cost RM4.08 billion) and abysmal results (the number of students who scored only Es double those who scored straight As in this year’s UPSR, Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah).

Homing in our Malaysia’s progress in science and mathematics, the Science and Technology Human Capital Report and Science Outlook 2015 by Akademi Science Malaysia found that increasingly, Malaysian students are opting out of pursuing their studies in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field. Currently, only 90,000 students in the science stream sit for the annual SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) examination, significantly less than the targeted 270,000 candidates every year.

What should we do?

Firstly, we must develop our STEM subjects with gravitas. The STEM field has a profound impact on our lives, and STEM jobs continue to observe a strong growth. Considering the pervasiveness of technological innovation and data analytics today, even typically non-STEM industries increasingly require employees with a solid background in science and mathematics. While developed countries like the United States, Japan, Singapore and Germany employ at least 30 percent of its workforce in STEM fields, Malaysia trails painfully behind - we have a STEM-related workforce of less than 3 percent.

At a time when Malaysia is in need of more computer programmers, environmental engineers, surgeons and the like, Prime Minister Najib Razak chose to slash the allocation for STEM from an already meagre RM5 million to nothing at all in the 2017 Budget.

Secondly, we must empower our teachers to fulfil their purpose to inspire and educate our children, not least by reducing the burden placed on their backs. During the last parliamentary sitting, I questioned the Education Ministry about the tablets equipped with 'Tutor Guru' and 'E-Paper' teaching tools that the ministry had provided to teachers.

In interviews conducted with teachers, we found that with dismal Internet speeds at schools, some teachers are forced to burn the midnight oil just to key in data - examination results, assignment scores, student information and the like - into applications made mandatory by the ministry.

Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan admitted that these tablets were meant to improve the quality of education, but much more needs to be done to guarantee a reliable internet infrastructure that is easily accessible to teachers. We are well into the 21st century, and vast technological advances are supposed to reduce administrative burden and improve productivity, not jeopardise the quality of teaching.

Thirdly, academic freedom and the democratisation of education to ensure independence from any political influence must be made an official policy. As evident in the flawed implementation of PPSMI, and the awarding of a high-cost school internet project to YTL Corporation, which had no experience in providing education services but enjoy close links with the BN administration, politics can hamper what little remains of our education system from nurturing an educated, informed citizenry.

In other words, we need nothing short of meaningful educational reforms, coupled with an iron resolve, if we are to secure our children's future.

Granted, our TIMMS score between 2011 and now show that we have made some steps towards progress. But, we still have a long way to performing above the international average, let alone to realise the blueprint’s elusive dreams to perform in “the top third of international student assessments”.

After all, Malaysia aims to become a “high-income nation” by 2020. But, the government must take heed that a strong and sustainable high-income nation can only be achieved when at least 40 percent of the workforce is high-skilled. But, if Malaysia continues to eat the dust in mathematics and science - our aspirations to become a high-income, high-skilled nation will remain illusory.


NURUL IZZAH ANWAR is the MP for Lembah Pantai and a vice-president of PKR.

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