Get students to be interested in science and technology: Fatimah

* Berita ini terdapat dalam Bahasa Inggeris sahaja.

BINTULU: Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Human Resource and Training) Datin Fatimah Abdullah said enough quality human capital based on science and technology can only be had if students are drawn to the relevant subjects.Fatimah said, therefore, the target to have about 30 per cent students mastering in science and 40 per cent in art by 2010 must be given greater attention through implementing effective programmes.

“We need to revive or all encouragement programmes and design new ones with help of the relevant ministries like Mosti (Ministry of Science, technology and Innovations) to get more students interested in science and technology,” Fatimah, who is also Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Home Economic and Training) when met before departing for the Science Symposium 2009 in Lawas yesterday, which was expected to be launched by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

On the science symposium in Lawas, Fatimah said it was a continuation of the programme stopped in 2004 but now revitalised to draw the interest of rural students.

She said the programme, to be run state-wide, would gather local scientists who would present their working papers on various science-related topics in front of secondary school students, teachers and the public.

According to her, what make teachers an important part of the target group of the symposium is because any programmes implemented to create greater awareness and motivation among students, at the end of the day, to sustain interest, it is teachers who will be looking to see if students are still following the programmes with interest.

“So hopefully from the symposium these teachers can make use of what they have learned to find ways to be creative, innovative and interesting in their future teaching process.

“In this way we may be able to prolong interest among the students,” said Fatimah.