Jakarta, Feb. 18 -- The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) has expressed concerns about the declining interest in science among Indonesia's youth.

"Interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, particularly physics, is waning. Several universities have even closed their physics programs," Yudi Darma, Director of Science and Technology Dissemination and Utilization at the ministry, stated during a media discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He drew attention to the irony of this trend, given science's crucial role in developing a technologically advanced and prosperous society.

"Consider the evolution of memory storage. In the 1950s, five megabytes required a space of ...