Petronas PSIP gives exposure, encourages HOTS among students

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(Seated, from left) Rhymie Rashidie, Anuar, Rosey, Francis and Alias with other guests and participants after the closing ceremony yesterday.

MIRI: The dynamic public education system is part of the effort to prepare students towards Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTs) in line with global development.

Assistant Minister of Women, Family and Childhood Development, Rosey Yunus said HOTs spark students’ critical thinking to apply knowledge, creativity, innovation and reflection in solving problems.

“In the beginning most parents did not understand HOTs but I am convinced that now most of them know the importance of HOTs in preparing our students to be competitive in the global stage, instead of being spoon fed with route-learning from textbooks only,” she said at the closing of the two-day Program Sentuhan Ilmu Petronas (PSIP) organized by Petronas here yesterday.

Adding on, Rosey said students need to be more prepared for the modern education system that requires them to think outside the box.

“The world is now borderless and the challenge is definitely greater in the future, thus the dynamic education system is able to produce high-potential students with first-class mindset,” she said.

Commenting on PSIP, Rosey said Petronas is consistent in its effort to develop students through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning which encourages students to explore new concepts and ideas.

“Learning through the field of robotics with Petrosains is meaningful as the students are given exposure to the latest technology and challenges they may face in the future. The strong collaboration through PSIP and other programmes organised by Petronas are in line with the state’s vision to prepare competitive human capital for sustainable development in Sarawak,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) senior general manager Anuar Ismail said PSIP had impacted and benefited more than 16,000 students nationwide.

He added that the implementation of STEM is in line with the Ministry of Education’s efforts to target the 60:40 ratio for entry into science, technical, vocational and art subjects.

This year, 116 students from four primary schools – Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Kuala Baram II, SK Bekenu, SK Sungai Tisang Bintulu and SK Bintulu were adopted by Petronas under PSIP.

The two-day workshop which started on Oct 21 began with an interactive session and experiential learning with Petronas volunteers on the area of STEM, followed by robotic workshop on the second day in collaboration with Petrosains.

Students were given lessons on coding, assembling and presenting their innovations where they were also tested on the ability to programme the robots to perform functions based on the given tasks.

Rosey also handed over school essentials (bags and stationery) sponsored by Petronas to primary 5 and 6 students who participated in the workshop.

Also present were Sarawak PCSB Service Administration Manager Francis Xavier, representative of Sarawak Regional Petronas office Rhymie Rashidie Ibrahim and Miri Deputy Education Officer Alias Ngah.