SIBU: Introducing Entrepreneurship as an additional subject has a lot of implication as schools already have more than enough subjects.
Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) stressed that the focus now should be on improving existing subjects and not on introducing new ones.
“We have to think of the feasibility and other implications. It seems easy when we think of only one new thing but this one new thing will always have impact on other things.
“To add entrepreneurship as another subject in school has a lot of implications. We have to take into account the training, number of periods in schools, the impact and classrooms.
“Whenever a new subject is introduced, the Education Ministry has to spend millions of ringgit for training.
“In the course of training, whereby teachers will have to leave their classrooms for weeks, students are left in their classrooms with other teachers who are not their subject teachers but just to sit in,” STU president Jisin Nyud told The Borneo Post.
He was commenting on Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan’s statement that Entrepreneurship, as a subject, should be introduced from Form One in secondary schools to provide students early exposure to entrepreneurship.
Ahmad Maslan reportedly said annually, only 30 per cent of secondary school leavers showed interest in entrepreneurship, while the government made available various forms of funds and incentives for the young to start small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
He further claimed that every year the country lost human capital, who should rightly be entrepreneurs.
Jisin also expressed concern on the ability of teachers to teach the subject.
“In the end, if there is no other option, the school will to have ask any Tom, Dick and Harry who are not well versed in the subject to teach. Do we want this to happen to our kids?” he asked.
Another issue, he pointed out, was that students would have more periods and stay for longer hours in class.
He also noted that Commerce was taught as part of Living Skills for Form 1 to Form 3 students.
“Is it necessary to have another subject of the same nature?” he asked.
For schools that have double session, it would mean moving from one class to another if the number of classrooms is not adequate, he said.
“During the interchange of classes in the afternoon, it is even more chaotic with another subject. Students and the teachers will have to wait for the morning session to end,” Jisin added.