High school students choosing to study STEM is still a 'concern'?

Deputy Minister Hoang Minh Son speaks at the workshop - Photo: NB

On September 28, the Ministry of Education and Training coordinated with the University of Technology to organize a workshop to collect comments on the draft project "Training human resources to serve high-tech development in the period 2025 - 2035 and orientation to 2045".

Estimated cost 20,000 billion VND

At the workshop, Dr. Dang Van Huan (Department of Higher Education , Ministry of Education and Training) on ​​behalf of the drafting committee informed about some key contents of the draft project "Training human resources to serve high-tech development in the period 2025 - 2035 and orientation to 2045".

The target for the 2025 - 2030 period is that the proportion of people studying STEM majors will reach 35% at each training level, of which at least 2.5% will be in basic sciences and 18% will be in digital technology-related majors.

In terms of the total training scale of STEM majors, the number of students studying engineering and master's training programs accounts for at least 10% and the number of students studying doctoral training programs accounts for at least 1%; the proportion of women accounts for at least 25%.

Regarding the quality index of university admissions, most STEM majors have improved and are higher than the average, with at least 40% of students from specialized high schools studying STEM majors.

The goal for the 2030 - 2035 period is that the proportion of people studying STEM majors will reach 40% at each training level, of which at least 3% will be in basic sciences and 20% will be in digital technology-related majors.

The total estimated cost to implement the project's main tasks and solutions by 2030 is about 20,000 billion VND, of which the state budget is about 16,000 billion VND and other legal capital sources are about 4,000 billion VND.

There are 25 public universities and 3 non-public universities that are prioritized for investment and implementation of talent training programs.

Dr. Dang Van Huan (Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training) presented the draft - Photo: NB

Why do specialized high school students rarely choose STEM?

During the discussion session to collect comments on the draft project, Mr. Chu Duc Trinh, principal of the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said that when the project is implemented, it will create a mechanism for the Ministry of Education and Training to more strictly manage the output standards of universities.

According to Mr. Trinh, the project needs to prioritize investment in a number of areas that are Vietnam's strengths, such as information technology, artificial intelligence, data science, etc. because Vietnam has invested a lot but the current development is still not commensurate with its potential.

For fields with weak enrollment, there needs to be specific mechanisms and changes in communication methods to learners.

Mr. Trinh said that this field has been discussed a lot in the past, but there needs to be a plan for training in the semiconductor industry, avoiding the race to train, creating for society a human resource to work in jobs with low value.

Prof. Dr. Chu Duc Trinh, principal of the University of Technology, spoke at the discussion - Photo: NB

Particularly in the discussion session, some opinions said that the tendency of many high school students to choose to study social sciences and humanities, with little interest in basic sciences and STEM, especially for students of specialized high schools, is a big challenge for training human resources to serve high technology development.

Specifically, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, Quy Nhon University, said that the number of students choosing to study basic sciences, natural sciences, and STEM is quite low, most of them study social sciences and humanities.

A representative of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry said that in recent years when consulting on admissions, the school has been "screaming" the advantages of studying STEM so that many students know about it and many talented people participate in this field, however, many talented students have not chosen it.

"The job market is doing so well, why are there so few students enrolling, especially good students? Somehow it's because of the long training time and high training costs. If we solve this problem, it will be different.

"It is necessary to use the State budget to invest in this field, possibly providing 100% scholarships, so that in 5-10 years there will be a source of good STEM labor," said a representative of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry.

A representative of Danang University commented that the criteria set out in the project have some parameters that are difficult to evaluate, such as 25% of women studying STEM majors, 40% of students from specialized high schools studying STEM... if we try to include them in the project's goals, it will be very difficult to implement.

According to Deputy Minister Hoang Minh Son, shifting women to STEM-related jobs is a very important solution, because according to the Deputy Minister, women in STEM are no less capable than men. Therefore, there should be preferential and incentive policies for women, creating equality and fairness.

Regarding the fact that the percentage of students in specialized schools choosing to study STEM is lower than the general rate, Mr. Son said that this is a matter of great concern, because when the State invests heavily in specialized schools, students will have to choose STEM more.

"The cause must be fixed. If we do not set goals and targets to increase the percentage of students in specialized schools choosing STEM, then the training in specialized schools will not achieve its goals. We must boldly fix the problem," Mr. Son affirmed.

Deputy Minister Hoang Minh Son requested the editorial team and drafting committee to fully absorb the comments at the meeting, ensuring generality but also specificity to successfully implement the project.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoc-sinh-truong-thpt-chuyen-lua-chon-hoc-stem-con-la-tran-tro-20240928150938357.htm