FRANKFURT: From next year, the streamless schools approach will be implemented.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said secondary students would be able to choose what subjects they want to study.

The streaming in Form Four is ridiculous, he said, as it resulted in many students who were born to be scientists ending up in arts, and those who did not want to be in that stream ending up in Science.

"So starting next year, science and arts students can choose and combine the subjects they like. I'm pushing for it.

"Big data will guide them in making the decisions themselves, not parents.

"Many parents make their children pursue their own dreams, which is not right," he said, adding that currently, students go into Science, Accounting or Arts depending on their results.

"The really good ones will go to Science while the less good ones will go to Arts. Am I right?

"That's why there's a mismatch."

He said that a similar approach, where big data would guide students in choosing their higher education courses, would be implemented.

Maszlee, who is on a working visit to Germany, was speaking during a meet-and-greet session with members of the Malaysian community in Germany on Oct 14.