Coding, a lesson for the future – The Star Online

THE introduction of coding enrichment classes for all upper primary pupils next year in Singapore will facilitate their coming of age in the digital economy.

The objective is not to create programmers – although some might choose that course – but to expose pupils to basic skills, and what the digital economy has in store. It also has the added benefit of helping to develop pupils’ capacity for problem-solving and logical thinking.

Singapore’s future lies in an economy where every business needs to be digitally ready, every worker has digital skills, and every citizen is similarly equipped and connected.

One way to achieve that is to expose young Singaporeans to the skill sets needed to seize opportunities in the new economy.

This is a national imperative.

A contributor to a World Economic Forum report declared that schools must teach computer science as part of the core curriculum to prepare students for the future.

Coding is a part of that science, which ultimately is about computational thinking, interface design, data analysis, machine learning, cybersecurity, networking and robotics.

Learning computer science is relevant to every career in all economies. Interestingly, when students were queried on how they felt about their classes, computer science and engineering came behind only the arts in terms of classes that they liked the most.

Quite evidently, the young like what will prepare them for the future.

Yet, even advanced economies recognise that they need to do more to enable the young to seize opportunities that will come their way. A 2018 report published by Code.org Advocacy Coalition and the Computer Science Teachers Association noted that computing is the foremost source of all new wages in the economy and that there are 500,000 open computing jobs across the United States.

However, the US education system is yet to provide widespread access to this critical subject, the report reveals.

In Britain, a study by the University of Roehampton found that fewer 16-year-olds in England are getting a computing qualification.

This is leading to fears that thousands of students, particularly girls and poorer pupils, are losing out in digital education. Singapore (and the rest of Asean) cannot afford to be a digital laggard.

A 2016 study estimated that the size of the global digital economy amounted to about US$11.5 trillion (RM47.2 trillion), or more than 15% of global gross domestic product.

A more recent estimate suggests that the digital economy will contribute another US$10bil (RM41bil) to Singapore’s gross domestic product by 2021 to increase the growth rate by 0.6% annually.

Introducing coding inclusively to upper primary pupils, in a way that makes them associate computing science with the exploratory activities of the mind, should certainly help to put Singapore’s young on the trajectory of an indispensable digital future. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network