TEACHER AMBASSADORS TASKED TO ROUSE STUDENTS' INTEREST, COMPETENCE LEVEL IN STEM

By Norhayati Mohd Akhir

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) educators who have been awarded as Teacher Ambassadors through the Teacher Ambassador Programme (PDG) need to work hard and be more active to raise students' interest and competence in STEM and Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).

Speaking at the Cohort 4 Teacher Ambassador Programme Award Ceremony here recently, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said the move was necessary to ensure that the target of 60:40 ratio of students in the science stream to the arts and social sciences stream could be achieved.

"What is important today is not an end for all of you, but we want a commitment from all our friends (educators) to contribute the latest knowledge and methods obtained through the PDG programme to improve STEM performance in their respective schools.

"This is because, we at the MOE (Ministry of Education) place serious emphasis on STEM subjects," he said.

He also said the suggestion was aimed at increasing student enrolment in the STEM stream as the wish was often expressed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Every time we meet with the Prime Minister, this is often emphasised and he previously also instructed MOSTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation) to place 100 biotechnology scientists in 100 schools to attract students’ interest in STEM fields,” he said.

According to Wong, PDG is a long-term collaborative programme until 2030 between the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Petronas Foundation, which aims to increase students’ interest in STEM subjects as well as to hone the HOTS competencies of students nationwide through holistic and integrated pedagogy.

Describing PDG as a very significant programme, Wong hopes that the programme can be expanded nationwide to cover all schools in urban and rural areas, including in Sabah and Sarawak.

“The Ministry of Science and Technology intends to focus on all schools regardless of their location, especially schools with a majority of children from the B40 group. We want more teachers from schools like this to be involved in PDG,” he said.

Meanwhile, Petronas Foundation chief executive officer Shariah Nelly Francis said the PDG, which was launched in 2019, aims to empower 4,500 exemplary teachers who are highly competent and committed to improving HOTS through STEM education as the foundation of a competitive nation by 2030.

He said that educators who are called Teacher Ambassadors will act as exemplary teachers to enhance students' interest and competence in STEM subjects and HOTS.

"The programme has various workshops, dialogues and a series of discussions conducted with the Ministry of Education and relevant stakeholders to ensure that this programme is from teachers, for teachers or better known as by teachers, for teachers," he said.

Sharing with Bernama, Yasmin Noorul Amin, 47, who is one of the Cohort 4 Teacher Ambassadors, said the PDG is an incentive for educators to be more creative in coming out with interesting programmes that can rouse students' interest in STEM subjects.

“When I was in this programme, I admit that it was a platform that facilitated my journey to educate my students and convince them of the benefits of STEM subjects,” said the Chemistry and Science teacher at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan La Salle, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

With 21 years of experience as an educator, the former engineer is determined to work hard to encourage her students to be interested in STEM subjects to ensure higher education opportunities and a bright career path.

“Before joining PDG, I felt that the responsibility to promote students’ interest was quite difficult but when I joined this programme, my path was made easier. There are many advantages I have seen after joining PDG,” said the teacher who hailed from Taiping, Perak.

Yasmin, who is the recipient of the 2024 National Teacher Icon Award in conjunction with the 53rd National Teachers’ Day Celebration recently, said that she and 415 other colleagues are now on the right track by joining PDG.

-- BERNAMA