Smart Education
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Sharp Malaysia launches smart classroom training programme to support teachers with digital learning in schools

Joan S. Reed
Ting (second left) exchanging the memorandum of understanding with Wan Munadi (second right). With them are (from left) Hashimoto, Maznah and Aminudin. — Picture courtesy of Sharp Electronics Malaysia

Ting (second left) exchanging the memorandum of understanding with Wan Munadi (second right). With them are (from left) Hashimoto, Maznah and Aminudin. — Picture courtesy of Sharp Electronics Malaysia

By Sylvia Looi

Friday, 20 May 2022 12:52 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — Sharp Electronics Malaysia has signed a memorandum of understanding with Yayasan Guru Malaysia Berhad (YGMB) that sees the company supporting teachers embrace digital classroom learning through its Smart Classroom Solution training programmes.

The MoU was signed by YGMB chief executive officer Datuk Wan Munadi Wan Mamat, and Sharp Malaysia managing director Ting Yang Chung.

It was witnessed by senior executive managing officer and head of Asia business of Sharp Corporation Japan Yoshihiro Hashimoto, and YGMB chairman Aminudin Adam.

Education Ministry’s educational resources and technology division director Maznah Abu Bakar also attended the ceremony.

Ting said Sharp Malaysia strives to leverage its advanced technology and continue to

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Science Logic
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Let’s rethink pay for science teachers

Joan S. Reed

Once again, a group of scientists, teachers this time, are striking. There was a strike by intern doctors, and doctors in the past. Even nurses and laboratory technicians threatened to strike before. I am unable to keep up so excuse me if it was a strike or a threat.

The reason for this strike is a 2021 presidential directive to pay science teachers better than their counterparts teaching the arts subjects by a huge margin. As it is, this “not entitled lot of arts teachers’ now insist that ‘all teachers matter” and therefore joining the strike.  When that directive was given last year, I had quietly wondered about its logic, thinking that perhaps all teachers should be treated better.

Uganda’s Vision 2040 aspires to reorient the country by making Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation (STEI) the main driver of economic growth and the key pillar of competition.   The vision creators

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Science & Education
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Has STEM education lost its way? | Information Age

Joan S. Reed

STEM in the classroom. Photo: Shutterstock

STEM education programs for school-age students have become “little more than amusement” after being diluted to fit into “siloed” academic curricula, a new analysis has warned, while noting students actively pursue STEM-related careers if engaged effectively.

Fully 77 per cent of the 1 million students participating in its targeted educational programs subsequently changed their career motivation to a STEM-related field, Re-Engineering Australia (REA) notes in a new report that found “most STEM programs today comply with few of the guiding principles of STEM and have become little more than amusement value for students.”

Such programs are “heavily focused on entertainment to showcase STEM rather than promoting understanding and achieving academic goals,” REA found, blaming the issue on educators “reverse engineering STEM into an existing siloed education curriculum.”

REA – which runs school-years programs such as F1 in Schools, SUBS in Schools, Space

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