Prof Maketab Mohammed said it was crucial for the younger generation to understand EE for the conservation of nature and future survival.
“If we do not understand the seriousness of climate change, we will be in denial, like US President Donald Trump,” he told FMT.
The previous government had said school students, beginning next year, would receive formal education on the environment.
Former natural resources and environment minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar then said a subject on Environmental Studies would be introduced in the primary and secondary school syllabi next year.
Current Education Minister Maszlee Malik has yet to confirm whether the subject would be included in the curriculum.
Maketab, who teaches at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), said EE in this country was scrapped many years ago.
“Compare our curriculum with those of Germany and Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway) or even the United Kingdom, environmental education starts from kindergarten and continues till high school and universities,” he said.
A recent study shows environmental education, despite facing several challenges, is surprisingly thriving in Malaysia.
The study titled, “An Evaluation The Current Progress of Malaysia Media and Environmental NGOs in Environmental Education”, acknowledged the active role that Malaysian media and voluntary organisations are playing in promoting environmental education.
It appreciated their efforts “particularly in creating awareness, providing environmental knowledge and changing the public’s mindset to help develop green citizens”.
The study, conducted by four academics from a local university, said it was hard for the local media to play its role as environmental educators due to restrictions placed by media outlet owners and advertisers.
“That clearly influences the type of information that can be published in a newspaper.”
Besides this, the study said, local media and these environmental NGOs also faced challenges like the community’s lack of interest in science and environment as it considers them to be “heavy” topics.
Such NGOs were also challenged by other factors, such as limited funding, which affect their activities and programmes, the study said.
Mohamad Saifudin Mohamad Saleh, one of the authors of the report, said there are benefits of early education on such an important subject.
“People, especially the younger generation, need to be equipped with the necessary knowledge about the environment so that they act in conserving natural resources,” he told FMT.
Students should be trained to become “small” ambassadors to deliver the same message on the environment to the people and the community, he added.