THE Education Ministry has announced that the arts/science streams currently used to segregate students according to their capabilities in upper secondary schools will be scrapped.
Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said on Monday that the government would replace it with MPEI (Mata Pelajaran Elektif Ikhtisas) or STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Arts, Music) education.
“Starting in 2020, students will be offered a broader spectrum of subjects under the new MPEI packages formulated instead of learning just the science or arts subjects offered in the current ‘streams’,” said Teo.
A letter/circular to secondary schools explaining the changes and the new subjects available said that students can choose elective subjects based on their interests, taking into account student achievement in the Form 3 Assessment (PT3), Classroom-based Assessment (PBD) and their psychometric test results.
These changes are said to be in line with the transition of the Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM) to the Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM) curriculum designed to develop students’ professional skills, HOTS, and 21st century skills and values to meet industry needs.
What this means for students in the national school system
A guide given by the Ministry for implementation of the streamless system details that the MPEI subjects and packages were formulated to cater for the first cohort of students under the KSSM curriculum following input from public universities as well as MOSTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation) in 2018.
The concept of the MPEI curriculum has been designed based on industry standards, professional bodies, and national and international certification bodies.
This means that students can, in future, obtain professional qualifications and choose a professional career as early as at school level such as London Chamber of Commerce (LCCI), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Business and Technology Education Council, UK (BTEC), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Majlis Rekabentuk Malaysia (MRM).
The guide also explains that students can pick up to five elective subjects and mix between the subjects in this new system.
The choice of the upper secondary elective subject package is based on combinations that add value to students in the context of student learning.
These packages are built on the need for students to connect with tertiary education such as universities, Matriculation Programmes, Form Six programmes, polytechnics, community colleges and other institutions of higher learning. In addition, the packages also take into account the needs of professional bodies as well as career pathways that the students enjoy.
However, Teo said that the abolishing of arts and science streaming for Form Four students needs to be done according to the capabilities, availability, suitability (facilities/infrastructure), as well as considerations of each school.
“The school is given autonomy in providing elective subjects taking into account school facilities and the availability of teachers for subjects offered,” she added.
“What is more important is that when implemented, counseling teachers and subject teachers must play a role in helping students make appropriate subject choices.”
The study paths that Form Four students can choose include engineering, science, maths, living skills, technical studies and a few other options which are still in development stage.
Features of the streamless system
Form Four students in 2020 will be presented with Core Subjects (Mata Pelajaran Teras) which are Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa Inggeris, Science, Mathematics, History and Islamic/Moral Studies. In addition to this, under the compulsory subject list (Mata Pelajaran Wajib), everyone is to take up Physical and Health Education.
There will still be some form of streaming as students will also need to take up Elective Subjects (Mata Pelajaran Elektif) from a list of packages formulated. They are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Humanities and Arts, Languages, and lastly Islamic Studies.
Under the STEM package are three options:
a) To take all the pure science courses -- Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Additional Mathematics; or
b) To take any of the TWO pure science and Mathematics courses and/or at least ONE elective subject of applied STEM science and technology or non-elective STEM subject; or
c) To take at least TWO elective STEM subjects in applied science and technology or any ONE Vocational Subject (Mata Pelajaran Vokasional).
Those taking any of the two Pure Science subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) will be exempted from taking Science under the core subjects list.
The 22 vocational subjects on offer also come under STEM. They are Interior Decorating, Domestic Pipe Works, Food Processing, Catering and Hospitality, Fashion Design and Sewing, and Facial care and Hair Styling among others.
Also under STEM are 12 Applied Sciences and Technology subjects such as Technical Graphic Communication, Sustainability, Agriculture, Computer Science and Health Science.
Under the Humanities and Arts package, students will take a combination of elective subjects made up of those under the Elective Language groups, Islamic Studies, Humanities and Arts and/or ONE STEM elective subject (except MPV).
Under the Languages package are 11 subjects that students can choose from ranging from Chinese, Tamil and Iban to Arabic, French and German.
Under the Islamic Studies package, students can choose from 13 subjects to take up such as Quran and Sunnah Edudation, Syariah Islamiah, Tasawur Islam, Hifz Quran and Maharat Quran among others.
The Humanities and Arts package offers students a chance to take up a combination of subjects from the Languages, Islamic Studies as well as Humanities and Arts packages. Under this package are 11 subjects such as Principles of Accounting, Economy, Business, Malay Literature, English Literature, Chinese Literature and Tamil Literature.
