Towards a world-class education

On course: (from left) Dr Khair, Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon, Mahdzir, Deputy Education Minister Datuk P Kamalanathan and Education secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad holding a copies of the Annual Report 2015, Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 which was launched yesterday.

A LOT of effort has been expended to enhance the quality of teachers during the First Wave (2013-2015) of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013-2025), which the Education Ministry said has met its initial milestones.

In an interview ahead of the release of the Blueprint’s 2015 Annual Report here yesterday, Education director-general Tan Sri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof said: “In the first year of the Education Blueprint, we put in place a solid foundation on which we will build over the next 12 years. What I can say is that the ‘meter’ or indicator has been moving in the right direction.”

In the ministry’s second annual report on the Education Blueprint released last year, it highlighted several early “quick wins” such as the increase in literacy and numeracy levels among those in Level 1 (Tahap 1) as well as increase in performance from states like Kedah and Sabah under the District Transformation Programme.

“However, we must realise that the Education Blueprint is a long-term plan, and has objectives with certain delivery timeframes. Before we look at the execution of the Education Blueprint, we need to understand the document, and the process that led to its creation.

“Unlike other previous plans, the Education Blueprint covers the entirety of the national education system based on studies by the World Bank, Unesco, local universities and international rankings such as The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA),” said Dr Khair.

He added that the last time a comprehensive study on the education system was done was more than 30 years ago.

He was referring to the 1979 Cabinet Committee Report on Review of Implementation of Education Policies (also known as the Mahathir Report - as per Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was appointed Education Minister in 1974).

The Education Blueprint, said Dr Khair, contains input from many layers of society collected through the National Education Dialogue, roundtables, as well as from the mass media. The inputs were then presented for critique by subjecting them to nine laboratories.

“Cognisant that capacity and competency building of the system takes time to build, the ministry has sequenced the transformation under the Blueprint to take place in three waves, with 2015 marking the end of the First Wave. More than 7,000 suggestions were submitted for discussion during the National Dialogue, other than recommen­dations from various stakeholders, and these were translated into initiatives for transformation.

First wave:The walls of the Education Ministry are decorated with the cover of the Education Blueprint as well as key information.

“The ministry is focused on implementing all these, all the while keeping in mind three main outcomes, which were achieved with rigorous and frequent monitoring, where each programme manager under the respective divisions is tasked to see the initiatives through. Issues that cannot be resolved at the division level were escalated to higher levels to be solved in the quickest manner, demonstrating that the ministry is very serious in executing what it promised in the Education Blueprint.”

On the question of outcome, Dr Khair argued that it is not as simple as referring to the number of As scored by a student.

“We also have to look at it more holistically, in line with the National Education Philosophy and our aspirations. That is why we practise a more broad-based school-based assessment. If students do well in sports at the national or international levels, or other extra curricular activities, then these achievements are recognised through Physical Education, Sports and Co-curricular Assessment (Pentaksiran Asas Jasmani, Sukan dan Kokurikulum).

“To discern a student’s interest in any particular area, we use Psychometric Assessment, which is widely used all over the world. Our students need to be assessed con­tinuously via School Assessment (Pentaksiran Sekolah) and also Centralised Assessment (Pentaksiran Pusat). School-Based Assessment has many similarities to continuous assessment practised in any institution of higher learning. To face the challenges of the future, the Education Blueprint has five system aspirations – access, quality, equity, unity and frequency, as well as six atudent aspirations – knowledge, thinking skills, leadership, bilingualism, ethics and spirituality, and national identity.”

Dr Khair is also grateful to the contributions from stakeholders outside the school in the transformation process, especially this year.

“This year, we are fortunate because at the school level, the involvement of parents/guardians, the community as well as the private sector has created a learning ecosystem within the community. Cooperation between parents and the school has uplifted the mood and environment in schools through the management of road traffic, training of school basketball teams and so on,” he added.

The digitalisation of the learning process is also a key part of the education system transformation.

Moving in right direction: Dr Khair says a solid foundation has been put in place from the first year of the Education Blueprint.

“The minister has frequently said students now are digital natives, with gadgets always in hand. This means teachers must be just as proficient in utilising the potential that is in the hands of students to facilitate borderless interactions. This will enable information and knowledge sharing to take place frequently and rapidly. The future of online learning for the Malaysian education system will be based on global quality standards, characterised by ease and equity of access to ensure the less fortunate groups will not be denied the opportunity to benefit from it. To achieve this, the ministry intends to make online learning and ‘blended’ learning a part of the teaching and learning process.

As for basic education, we have increased the use of 1BestariNet to promote virtual learning.”

In summing up the government’s approach to implement the Education Blueprint successfully, Dr Khair said the senior management of the ministry – the minister, deputy ministers, secretary-general and director-general, will continue to monitor progress, solve problems, make critical decisions promptly, as well as to communicate decisions using various channels, including the latest communications apps.

“After the first three years of transforming the education sector, the ministry realises that the process is far-reaching and complex. Transformation goes together with various initiatives that need to be developed as part of the reform process. And even though each single initiative is important and meaningful, the ministry believes that adjustments and tweaks to these initiatives need to be conducted so that the country will not be unduly burdened.

“The Education Blueprint will continue to lend support to the National Education Philosophy to provide a holistic education. This blueprint looks at imparting skill sets and attributes that will enable students to spearhead development at various levels in future. The ministry will continue to prioritise things that bring results, and will go to great lengths to make them happen.”