Rosmah (left) during a conference on the launching of the programme. On the right is the chairwoman of the working committee on the implementation of Permata Datuk Seri Siti Azizah Sheikh Abod. — Bernama photo
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is the first country to organise the 2016 Children Science Camp for children as young as age two to four years, said patron of the Permata Negara Programme Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
The prime minister’s wife said through the camp to be held in November, the participants must undergo the Permata Children Intelligence Scale (PCIS) test to evaluate their cognitive abilities.
Rosmah said the PCIS test, which was developed last year, was to search for more gifted and talented children at that age nationwide.
“The early IQ (Intelligent Quotient) test has been carried out on 1,470 children from 82 Permata nurseries nationwide and 20 of them have been identified as having moderate to high cognitive abilities.
“And one child is found to have cognitive abilities categorised as very high,” she told a press conference on the launching of the Permata Negara Gifted and Talented Camp programme here yesterday.
According to Rosmah, the children were gathered in one science camp last December at the Permata Pintar Centre to help gifted and talented children and build their interest in learning science.
“Observations made by teachers during the camp indicated that the gifted children showed deep interest in their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based learning environment,” she said.
Meanwhile Rosmah said the children, aged two to four years, could take the test online at the website, pcis.upsi-ukm.edu.my, at their homes or nursery for two months starting Aug 27.
“The children who managed to attain PCIS intelligence score will be invited to attend the 2016 Children Science Camp for five days in November and will be exposed to the fields of biology, chemistry, engineering, physics and forensics.
“I hope these efforts will not only help identify gifted and talented children but also recognise their educational needs much earlier,” she said.
She said the camp would be conducted in five centres based on zones, namely northern zone (Alor Setar, Kedah), central zone (Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Perak), southern zone (Kolej Permata Pintar, Selangor), eastern zone (Kuala Terengganu) and Sabah-Sarawak (Kuching).
Rosmah added the camp would be on a daily basis and parents have to send their children in the morning and fetch them back in the afternoon, while accommodation is provided for those from afar.
“Normally we will receive 250,000 to 300,000 participation and out of that, only 700 to 800 children are eligible under the gifted and talented category. For each zone, we will choose 20 or 30 children to take part in the programme,” she said.
Rosmah also said Permata programme would introduce the new curriculum involving the STEM learning from next year to unearth talent in these fields at a young age.
She also shared the success of 16 students of UKM Permata Pintar who obtained places in a number of renowned universities in the United States to pursue their selected fields to fulfil the country’s needs.
In addition, she said two students, who had completed their degrees, would continue their doctorate studies at the University of Oxford and the University Princeton while three others would pursue a master’s degree at the University Edinburgh. — Bernama