Kuala Lumpur: All fully residential schools (SBP) are implementing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) packages as part of efforts to achieve the target of 60 percent student participation in all schools nationwide, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE). In a statement today, the MOE stated that 18,113 or 98.86 percent of the total SBP students are pursuing the STEM packages, and the remaining 209 or 1.14 percent have opted for the Social Science packages.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the STEM packages in SBP include all pure science subjects (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology) as well as Add Maths or all pure science subjects (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology), Add Maths, Arabic, Quran, and Sunnah and Syariah Islamiah. Other STEM packages are pure science subjects (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology), Add Maths, Arabic, Hifz Al-Quran (Quran memorisation) and Maharat Al-Quran (skills of the Quran). Alternatively, students can opt for two pure science subjects (Physics and Chemistry), Add Maths, and Computer Science.

The ministry also stated that its current focus is increasing student enrolment in pure science subjects across all types of schools. The MOE will also introduce a special SBP initiative focused on the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), it said, adding that the ministry welcomes Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recommendation to increase the number of students taking STEM to meet the demand for human resources in related industries.

Meanwhile, the MOE said it would strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to enhance the enculturation of STEM across all types of schools and levels. Yesterday, Anwar proposed that 70 percent of students in SBP enrol in the STEM stream next year to strengthen expertise in these fields given its significance in national development.