Shortage of IT teachers, technicians may hamper teaching of computer coding in schools

KUALA LUMPUR: The introduction of computer coding to the national school syllabus next year is expected to nurture higher level creative and cognitive thinking skills among Malaysian students.
In the fast changing world of information technology, replacing computer or information and communications technology (ICT) literacy with computer science literacy in schools will put our youths on the fast track to becoming technology creators and innovators instead of merely being users.
The Education Ministry's move to include tech education as part of the national school curriculum, which is supported by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), is in line with the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025.
Recently, MDEC Chief Executive Officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood said computer coding would not only be taught as part of a computer science subject, but would also be incorporated into the teaching of science and mathematics.
She also said that a pilot programme on the teaching of computer coding has already been implemented in 22 schools.
What are the necessary prerequisites to ensuring the success of the new policy?
Be well prepared

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Sahandri Gani Hamzah, who gave the thumbs-up to the plan to teach students computer coding, said the Education Ministry should start gearing up for the teaching of the subject in schools by recruiting more teachers with the relevant IT qualifications.
"The shortage of qualified teachers may pose a setback to its implementation," he told Bernama, adding that if this issue was not addressed, the ministry's new policy may hit a brick wall and suffer the same fate as its teaching of mathematics and science in English programme.
(The teaching of mathematics and science in English policy was introduced in 1996 but it was reversed in 2012 due to poor performance among students, mainly due to the fact that the lessons were conducted by teachers who themselves were not proficient in the language.)
In fact, as Mohd Sahandri Gani pointed out, observations carried out on the schools involved in the pilot computer coding teaching project had revealed certain impediments.
The obvious obstacle was, as anticipated, the shortage of qualified teachers and computer technicians, as well as ICT facilities and labs, he said, adding that it was pertinent that this issue be ironed out before the subject is incorporated into the school curriculum.
Gauging Mohd Sahandri Gani's estimation that only 15.2% of teachers nationwide have exposure to computer coding, it is clear that the Education Ministry is set to face an uphill task equipping schools with enough IT teachers and facilities.
National Union of Teaching Profession President Hashim Adnan, meanwhile, is already hearing rumbles of discontent among teachers who are probably apprehensive about being roped in to teach the new subject.
Urging teachers to be open-minded and accept the fact that computer coding would soon be part of the school syllabus, he said schools could begin by teaching basic computing and IT terminology related to computer coding while awaiting more complete equipment to facilitate the teaching of the new subject.
Admitting that many senior teachers tend to be technophobic, Mohd Sahandri Gani said it was fortunate that students pursuing the various Bachelor of Education programmes at public universities and teacher training institutes were exposed to courses that develop their ICT skills.
"At least these graduate teachers will have some IT knowledge when they embark on their teaching career," he said.
While the existing shortage of computers in mainstream schools is expected to hinder the teaching and learning of computer coding, fully-residential schools, on the other hand, have enough hardware but the limited capacity of their software enable each school to accommodate only two classes at any one
time, he noted.
He added that in keeping with the teaching and learning trends of the 21st century, schools could no longer depend entirely on computer labs and should, instead, strive to have all their classrooms fitted with the latest IT facilities that are interconnected.
"Another major problem is that (currently) there are no computer technicians at government schools and the teachers lack the skills needed to attend to computer breakdowns and repairs," said Mohd Sahandri Gani, who is also a lecturer at UPSI's Faculty of Education and Human Development.

Special teachers
According to Mohd Sahandri Gani, several suggestions have been forwarded to the Education Ministry to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the computer coding teaching programme during the 2017 school session.
The suggestions include appointing at least one graduate teacher at every school to teach computer coding, as well as a computer technician to handle glitches and maintain the hardware and software.
"The network at every school should be upgraded to enable each and every process using the (various) computer applications to function properly," he added.
NUTP's Hashim said it was good to improve the computer science literacy level in schools and equip students with coding skills as it would enable them to eventually become technology developers.
Expressing confidence that students would willingly embrace the new subject, he said parents and teachers could do their part by being proactive and keeping abreast with developments in the IT industry to improve their knowledge.
He added that society at large should also become more aware of the benefits of computer literacy through campaigns and advertisements in the print and electronic media. — Bernama