Tamil Schools Triumph in Science Fairs

3/16/2018 Tamil schools triumph in science fairs - Education | The Star Online
Tamil schools triumph in science fairs
EDUCATION
Sunday, 24 May 2015

By Rebecca Rajaendram
Work in progress: Science fair participants get to experience what it is like to be an actual scientist
and come up with their own experiments.
Work in progress: Science fair participants get to experience what it is like to be an actual scientist and come up with
their own experiments.
One man’s vision in triggering an interest in all things science has brought Tamil schools to the
limelight.
THEY were once at the bottom of the heap, but they’ve been thrust into the limelight, thanks to their
recent successes in science.
Malaysia’s Tamil schools are carving a name for themselves in the international science arena, clearly
outshining other schools.
In March, three students from SJK (T) Ramakrishna, Penang, beat 300 contestants from all over the
world to win the rst prize at the 35th Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition.
Durgashini Srijayan, Kumurthashri Ponniah and Sugheson Ganeson brought home the gold medal under
the Excellent Youth Science Creation category for the eco-friendly thermo container they invented.
Last October, in London, SJK (T) Kulim’s R. Prevena, V Susheetha and former student R. Rasyikash won
the Double Gold Award at the British Invention Show.
The team created an energy-saving drinks dispensing machine.
Tamil schools are also performing much better in the local examinations.
Last year, SJK (T) Taman Tun Aminah, Johor Baru, was the top school in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah
Rendah with 43 pupils scoring perfect 7As while others scored 7Bs.
What’s the secret to their success? Most of them have either taken part or are actively involved in the
Science Fair for Young Children (SFYC).
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2015/05/24/tamil-schools-triumph-in-science-fairs/ 1/5
The fair is organised by the Association of Science, Technology and Innovation (Asti). Its objective is to
mentor and spark an interest in science among schoolchildren, especially Tamil school pupils.
Asti president Dr Mohamed Yunus Mohamed Yasin, 44, is said to have driven the science and maths
agenda to Tamil schools, says well known blogger Syed Akbar Ali.
But Dr Mohamed Yunus, a Cambridge University engineering graduate, is modest about the role he’s
played in the recent triumphs of the Tamil schools, saying that the schools and pupils were just as eager
and enthusiastic.
Anxious: These 'scientist' seem a nervous as they await the decision of the judges.
“To be fair, it is not just Asti’s works that have increased the Tamil schools’ successes in mathematics and
science. I would say that since we started building that culture of science in the schools, it is the pupils
who’ve shown an interest and have immersed themselves in projects ,” adds Dr. Mohamed Yunus.
Dr Mohamed Yunus says Asti was only formed long after the SFYC came into being.
The association was established in 2010 while the rst SFYC was held in 2006. There were only 49
teams taking part at the state level in 2006, but that quickly grew to 261 in 2014.
At the national level only the top 60 state teams compete annually.
“SFYC participants must come up with an experiment using a scienti c method, after which they present
it to the audience. They get to experience being a science university student,” says Dr Mohamed Yunus.
He says the participants have to show their methodology and even conference papers, plus prepare
colourful presentation boards.
“Our schoolchildren need to be immersed in learning science and experience the magic of science
through science-based activities.”
Dr Mohamed Yunus adds that the Asti team noticed that there was a tendency for schools to send only
their top pupils to the SFYC.
Exemplary mentor: Cambridge University-

educated Dr Mohamed Yunus says
schoolchildren need to experienced the magic of
science.
This then prompted the association to launch the School Level Science Fair.
The school level fair is the same as SFYC with one difference.
This time, the school runs the event, not Asti.
“If we want to get more pupils involved, we have to do it at the school level and when we did this, many
more pupils in schools took part.”
He says that the school level fairs were for pupils in Years Four and Five.
“These fairs got the pupils enthusiastic and interested in science and schools have said that this
triggered an interest among pupils to learn.
“They’re motivated,” he adds.
He also says that Asti trains the teachers to run the fair speci cally in order to empower them and
ensure the event happens every year.
“We are a very small team here. We can’t be going to all the schools to conduct the fair,” adds Dr
Mohamed Yunus.
The success of the science fair has led Asti to venture into secondary schools.
Last year, they launched the Young Inventors Challenge that aims to provide a platform for secondary
school students to experience the inventive cycle.
Students are required to develop and showcase their inventions to an audience. Almost the same as in
SFYC.
When asked what prompted him to target Tamil schools speci cally, Dr Mohamed Yunus says these
schools needed the help and push to excel in science and mathematics.
“When I returned from the United Kingdom in 2002, I went to visit some schools and I found that these
schools were in a terrible condition.
“Some of these Tamil schools are very small. There are schools with only six students,” he says.
Asti has also worked with Astro over the last eight years to create more than 65 educational television
capsules.
These capsules are short clips aired across the Tamil channels and have featured different themes over
the years.
Among them are famous scientists, scienti c concepts and also “backyard science”.
Backyard science, says Dr Mohamed Yunus, is the science that goes into everyday activities such as
watering the plants.
He says that the scientists clips did not only feature renowned names like Sir Isaac Newton and Albert
Einstein.
“We also had some Indian scientists like Srinivasa Ramanujan and Nobel prize winners C.V. Raman and
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar,” he adds.
Funding has been a huge problem for Asti and it is nding it a challenge to make ends meet.
“We sometimes get money from companies or NGOs but as of this year, we haven’t gotten a single sen.
“We are currently working on goodwill,” Dr Mohamed Yunus adds.
He hopes more people will step forward to help Asti with funding as their tireless efforts have clearly
shown results.
The students are not as con dent at the local level but their self-esteem and con dence grows as they
make their way up to national and international competitions, adds Dr Mohamed Yunus.
TAGS / KEYWORDS:
Tamil Schools , ASTI
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3/16/2018 Tamil schools triumph in science fairs - Education | The Star Online

Sunday, 24 May 2015

The team created an energy-saving drinks dispensing machine.

Exemplary mentor: Cambridge University-

This time, the school runs the event, not Asti.

“They’re motivated,” he adds.

“We are currently working on goodwill,” Dr Mohamed Yunus adds.

Tamil Schools , ASTI

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