By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Dec 5: The Sarawak government is proposing a significant increase in the teaching and learning (PdP) time for Mathematics and Science subjects, following what has been described as ‘less than satisfactory’ results from the Dual Language Programme Assessment (UPDLP) in the State.
Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development, Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee announced the proposal today, stating that the current teaching hours are disproportionately low compared to other core subjects.
According to a news report by TVS, he revealed that the annual PdP time for Mathematics currently stands at 96 hours, while Science is allocated a mere 48 hours per year. This is significantly lower than the 192 hours allocated to both Bahasa Malaysia and English.
To him, the situation makes it difficult for effective intervention to improve the understanding of basic concepts, even though Mathematics and Science constitute new knowledge that requires a longer learning period.
The Deputy Minister warned that this disparity has wider implications for the State’s human capital aspirations.
“In other words, we do not expect to have more Science students in Secondary School. So we will be doing some form of mitigation or intervention to help this matter. At the primary school, the number of hours spent on teaching Maths and Science is very low compared to the number of hours for teaching Bahasa Malaysia and English,” he said, speaking to the media at the Sarawak Biovalley Pilot Plant and Curtin University Malaysia today.
He said that if the Mathematics and Science subjects wants to be emphasised, therefore the teaching hours must be increased.
“If not, how can we carry out intervention? I want to urge the Ministry of Education (MoE) to look into this matter. This issue is very serious, because the number of hours for PdP in Mathematics and Science is too low compared to other subjects.”
He stressed that a strong mastery of these subjects at an early stage is crucial to prevent a decline in the number of students entering the Science stream in secondary schools.
The proposed increase in PdP time is viewed as a vital step towards empowering Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Sarawak, aligning with efforts to boost the quality of State education.
To formulate an effective strategy, Sarawak will soon hold the “Empowering Maths and Science Sarawak (EMAS)” workshop to draft intervention strategies for the primary school level.
Meanwhile, in a related development to strengthen students’ access to Science learning, the Sarawak government is set to build five more Common Science Labs across several divisions.
This initiative follows the successful launch of the first common lab in Miri, which is currently being utilised by secondary school students to conduct more structured experiments.
“Under the 13th Malaysia Plan, we have been given approval to build five more such labs, which will be constructed in Serian, Betong, Kapit, Lawas, and also Sri Aman,” he announced.
Dr Annuar said that these labs are specifically aimed at areas where schools do not possess complete or well-equipped laboratory facilities.
“They (students) can come here to use these labs and carry out experiments as required by the Physics, Biology, and Chemistry syllabi. These labs are complete, feature safety components, and have laboratory assistants provided by the Sarawak Science Centre, which is led by Dr Peter (Morin Nissom),” he added.
The Common Science Lab initiative is designed to address the problem of incomplete science facilities in schools, particularly those in rural areas.
The first operational lab, located at the Sarawak Biovalley Pilot Plant in Curtin University Malaysia, Miri, provides a fully equipped experimental space with safety features and dedicated lab assistants.
Dr Annuar said that the primary goal is to provide students with additional time and access to conduct essential experiments.
While schools can already book the facility, the government is currently studying transportation options to facilitate easier movement for students. — DayakDaily
