Sabah can tackle doctor shortage by strengthening STEM education, says deputy minister
KOTA KINABALU: The way to address the doctor shortage in Sabah is through strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education from the school level, said the deputy higher education minister.
Datuk Mustapha Sakmud, the Sepanggar member of parliament, said Sabah lags behind other states when it comes to student involvement in STEM.
"Medicine is part of STEM, and if we don't emphasise this at the school level, not many will go on to pursue medicine, engineering or other related disciplines.
"The core issue lies in our schools. We need to fix this at the root.
"If students aren't equipped or interested in STEM subjects early on, it becomes difficult for them to qualify for medical faculties later."
He said this at a Hari Raya celebration at Tun Ahmad Shah Mosque here.
Recently, former state health director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said that instead of having an ideal ratio of 1 doctor to 400 people, Sabah has 1 to 700.
Mustapha added that Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) has established a medical faculty to support the state's aspirations of producing more doctors.
"Now the challenge is ensuring our children meet the requirements and have the interest."
Mustapha had earlier urged those who just received their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia results to apply for courses that offer better employment prospects.
Meanwhile, commenting on water woes at UMS, he said the Sabah Water Department would give priority in supplying water to UMS tanks.
"At the same time, if there is a reduction in water supply from the Sabah Water Department, we have nine tube wells that were built last year to temporarily meet the needs of the students."
Present was Inanam assemblyman Datuk Peto Galim.
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