SEBUYAU: Students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sebuyau showed a positive development trend towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields with a gradual increase in the number of student enrolments.

Principal of SMK Sebuyau Awang Abbas Awang Lawi shared that student interest in the stream is increasing, where in 2025, only six students enrolled in the STEM stream.

However, the number increased to nine students for the 2026 Sijil Peperiksaan Malaysia (SPM) examination group.

"This trend continues to increase when 11 students in Form Four for 2026 have chosen to join the stream, thus reflecting the effectiveness of the encouragement efforts carried out at the school level," he said when met after the Sarawak Government's 2026 Minor Rural Project (MRP) Grant Presentation Ceremony at the Sebuyau District Office on Tuesday.

Awang Abbas said that the allocation is dedicated to academic and co-curricular support for students in the Sebuyau district which will assist in carrying out academic programmes, student co-curricular activities, as well as programmes under the management of the Parents-Teachers Association.

He added that SMK Sebuyau is categorised as a 'focus school' which requires high commitment and financial assistance to provide meaningful education to students.

He explained that the school is targeting an increase in enrollment to 95 students per class in the future.

"In addition, motivation from parents and the local community is very necessary to attract children to make STEM a future career path," he added.

However, the SMK Sebuyau Principal explained that the biggest challenge in strengthening STEM is the lack of expert teachers such as teachers with specific expertise, which is the cause of weak strengthening efforts of STEM in schools.

He added that the presence of expert teachers is crucial because they are the main factor that can attract students to get involved in STEM programmes. -UKASnews