Putting science back on agenda

2011/10/04

By Ahmad Ibrahim

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LATELY, there have been disturbing reports about the decline in the number of students doing science. It has reached a critical level.

Though the government had targeted a science to arts students ratio of 60:40, the actual ratio is much lower. Some say it may be more like 20:80. At the rate things are going, it will be tough for the government to increase the number of research scientists and engineers (RSEs) in the country. The government's target of 50 RSEs per 10,000 workers by 2020 does not look achievable.

This can have serious repercussions on the country's innovation plan. How can we address this? How can we attract more students to do science?

Ask any student what would be their preferred profession. Or for that matter, ask the parents what they want their children to be. Chances are the student will not choose a career in science.

And the parents will also not want their children to pursue science. Anything but science. Why is this so? Why is science unattractive? Experts have offered many reasons for the declining interest in science. On top of the list is the fact that a career in science does not pay well. It is much less lucrative compared with other professions.

But many believe there is more to it. One factor contributing to the growing disinterest in science has to do with the fact that science is widely viewed as complicated, uninteresting and difficult to master. Is this true?

Is it really complicated? In the past, there was no difficulty in getting students to join the science stream. In fact, in the early years, the country was able to attract many to do science. Some were disappointed when told they did not qualify to join the science class. Is it the teaching methods that are putting students off science nowadays? Or is it to do with the facilities for studying science?

Many countries have introduced new approaches to teaching science. In France, for example, their inquiry-based science education (IBSE) is proving to be a hit among students.

China is also implementing its own IBSE model. They call it the "handsbrain" programme. In the United States, their K12 model has also shown positive signs. All these programmes are based on the use of practical approaches to explain and describe scientific theories and phenomena.

Malaysia has yet to put in place its own IBSE programme. The fact that some schools reportedly do not have proper science laboratories would make it difficult to implement IBSE. This does not augur well for science teaching and will negate the target to increase the number of scientists to support the nation's transformation agenda.

Under the government's Economic Transformation Programme, many admit science and technology can make a lot of difference to the outcome. Science can be deployed to not only sustain the 12 National Key Economic Areas but also discover new potential areas for growth. This cannot be achieved without a critical mass of scientific talent.

Without a sufficient number, the country could face difficulties competing in a global economy increasingly led by science and innovation.

Already, the plantation sector is lamenting the lack of human capital in agriculture, especially agronomists, microbiologists and fertiliser technologists. An acute shortage of taxonomists needed to support our biodiversity programme has also been reported.

There are also very few students taking Mathematics. Yet, a strong command of Mathematics is essential in almost all fields of science. In developed countries, professionals in biotechnology, bioinformatics, information and communications technology and computational biology all have good grounding in Mathematics.

It is high time we resolved this talent issue in science. The government's recent announcement to undertake a national review of the country's education policy is welcome.

In science education, the review should seriously look at the policy to train science teachers. Often, the teaching of science is not the preferred vocation of many would-be teachers.

Some take up the option while waiting for a better job opportunity.

As a result, there have been blatant cases of teachers not taking classroom teaching seriously. Often classroom teaching is considered inadequate to cover the full syllabus. Students, therefore, have to attend expensive tuition classes to make up for whatever has been left out in the classroom. There have been a mushrooming of tuition centres.

In the early days, extra tuition was not widely taken. Yet, we were able to produce well-schooled students.

We may want to take a cue from some countries which have been more successful in attracting the best brains to take up the teaching of science.

One country has successfully attracted its top students to take up the teaching of science by offering them lucrative incentives and rewards. Apart from better pay, those who join the programme are also given the opportunity to pursue further studies up to the PhD level.

If we are to make headway in the global innovation-led economy, investment in science education is of paramount importance.

Otherwise, it will be a matter of time before we are overtaken by countries like Vietnam, where their investment in science education is on the rise.

Dr Ahmad Ibrahim is a fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia

Source : New Straits Time October 4 2011