Computing Subjects to be Implemented in Primary and Secondary Schools

(photo courtesy: thehindu.com)

At the launch of #mydigitalmarker at Sekolah Alam Shah, Precinct 1, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, along with Malaysia’s Education Ministers, announced that Computational Thinking and Computer Science are to be implemented within the new Standard Based Curriculum for Primary Schools (KSSR) and Standard Based Curriculum for Secondary Schools (KSSM) 2017 onwards.

The subjects were piloted in 24 schools last year, involving several hundred students, resulting in a good turnout where within a duration of 8 to 10 weeks, students were capable of creating games and presentations, among other creations. This time round all Primary 1, Form 1 and Form 4 students nationwide will be the first to be taught the subjects, with other levels being exposed to it in the following years. Of these changes, Najib said “this effort will benefit approximately 1.2 million students from 10,173 schools nationwide.” More than 9000 teachers are currently being trained in teaching the computing subjects to students in the near future.

Najib touched on Malaysia being the first ASEAN country to introduce such subjects to its school’s curriculums, as countries such as the US, the UK and Australia have already had integrated. The reason behind this initiation, Najib added, was that “Our digital economy contributed to 17% to our Gross Domestic Product in 2014 and we hope it will grow in years to come. To realize this goal, we have to ensure our students are groomed at an early age.”

The global boom in the technology sector recently resulted in more than 88,000 jobs in the computer science field in Malaysia, and it is in response to this growing need that Najib insists on Malaysians taking advantage of and hopefully pursuing their studies and future careers further in this sector. As an example, Najib spoke about two computer science graduates, from the Multimedia University and in Penang whose monthly earnings amount to RM25,000.

(cover photo courtesy: astroawani.com)