Imagine that a container full of water is flowing into a dedicated pipeline, and the flow goes well for a while until it faces a challenge. The pipeline is having an issue; some are having serious leaks or blockages. As maintenance is needed, but it seems to have a different viewpoint on solving the matter, it has decided to make a new container with a new pipeline to replace the existing one.
That’s what I see in the transition of persuading young generations to enter TVET with a catchy phrase like ‘TVET graduates are valuable and highly paid’. Was it real that TVET will be paid higher?
Since there was a declining percentage of enrolment in 2021 (40.95%) and a recovery in 2024 (50.83%), will it be a positive sign for STEM? MOE was targeting 60% enrolment in STEM, and how will the effort be executed?
A student who wants to enrol in any programmes will look into the prospects in their career. Nowadays, competition is too much, and even to enrol in MBBS is a tight fight. Even engineers are underpaid, and any related STEM prospects in careers are limited. So, what the students are looking for now is to make it an easier path. 50.83% of students are not guaranteed they will further their degree in STEM-related fields yet.
Now, governments are pushing that TVET will solve the issue of losing many students in STEM by saying TVET is highly paid because it is more practical to work in the industries. Is it true or half true?
Datuk Seri Dr Ahamad Zahid Hamidi mentioned the country needs 60,000 engineers but currently only produces 6,000 a year, and TVET needs to be accelerated to achieve the target. This is how it created more confusing situations, which, at the end of 2022, according to the Board of Engineers Malaysia, resulted in 187,900 registered engineers. Secondly, which engineers are crucial and need to be set as a priority to achieve the target? Are the job opportunities ready for these future engineers to graduate? Why is it under TVET, not STEM? Will the graduates receive an appropriate salary?
More questions came out, as the direction is not clear. A chicken and egg? Now, with booming AI ambition and the urge to create an AI ecosystem, which needs an AI engineer. Does it look promising for TVET, or is it just another mirage? It creates another huge water container and a new pipeline to flow it, which may be redundant and complex. Old containers were abandoned? The pipeline problem remains unaddressed.
Iman Syah (imanunimap@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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