PUTRAJAYA: For the last five years or so, a group of teachers have been selected to rouse students’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
Yasmin Noorul Amin is one such teacher under the Teacher Ambassador Programme (PDG) which is a collaboration between the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) and Petronas Foundation since 2019.
PDG is a long-term collaborative programme, until 2030, which aims to increase students’ interest in STEM subjects as well as to hone their higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) competencies through holistic and integrated pedagogy.
Yasmin, 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.
“This programme provided 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 SMK 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.
Yasmin, who was the recipient of the 2024 National Teacher Icon Award in conjunction with the 53rd National Teachers Day recently, said that she and 415 other colleagues are now on the right track by joining PDG.
Speaking at the Cohort 4 Teacher Ambassador Programme award ceremony here recently, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh urged the selected teachers to work harder and be more active to raise students’ interest and competence in STEM and HOTS.
He 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.Wong 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 to place 100 biotechnology scientists in 100 schools to attract students to STEM fields,” he said, as reported in Bernama.
Describing PDG as a very significant programme, Wong hopes that it can be expanded nationwide to cover all schools in urban and rural areas, including Sabah and Sarawak.
“Mosti intends to focus on all schools regardless of their location, especially those with a majority of children from the B40 group.
“We want more teachers from schools like this to be involved in PDG,” he said.
Petronas Foundation chief executive officer Shariah Nelly Francis said PDG, which was launched in 2019, aims to empower 4,500 exemplary teachers who are highly competent and committed to improve HOTS through STEM education as the foundation of a competitive nation by 2030.
