BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Minister of Education (MoE) Datin Seri Setia Dr Romaizah Md Salleh emphasised Brunei Darussalam’s commitment to elevate higher education institutions to be globally recognised for their academic reputation, employer recognition, faculty quality and impactful research, producing workforce-ready graduates with evolving skills.
She made these comments attending the Asean Ministers of Education Roundtable on Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Mitigating Out of School Children and Youth (OOSCY) Challenges, and the Asean Higher Education Ministers’ Roundtable: ‘Envisioning the Next Decade and Beyond’.
In conjunction with the Asean-Malaysia Chairmanship 2025, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia held two ministerial meetings from June 17 to 20 in Langkawi, Malaysia.
The Asean Ministers of Education Roundtable on Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Mitigating OOSCY Challenges was officiated by Malaysia’s Minister of Education Fadhlina Sidek.
The minister emphasised the need to tackle deficits in foundational learning, skill gaps, and youth unemployment, as these issues worsen the challenge of out-of-school children and youth.
She underscored Malaysia’s commitment to providing equitable access to quality education and opportunities for all young people, especially those currently out of school, to participate meaningfully in society.
Dr Romaizah also presented an overview of Brunei Darussalam’s Compulsory Education Act, highlighting how it has been strengthened by reducing the mandatory school entry age to five years.
This crucial change aims to provide earlier access to schooling for children. To support this, a range of initiatives have been introduced, specifically to assist vulnerable groups.
These include programmes like Bantuan Keperluan Persekolahan Tahunan, by providing school essentials and school feeding programmes, all designed as part of a broader effort to address educational challenge.
During the Asean Higher Education Ministers’ Roundtable, with the theme ‘Envisioning the Next Decade and Beyond’, Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir highlighted the necessity for higher education institutions to become more inclusive, agile and responsive to real-world demands in the face of rapid technological and industrial changes.
Dr Zambry underlined that the goal is to enhance collaboration among governments, academia, and industry to prepare youth for future jobs and create pathways fostering an innovative and cohesive Asean that leaves no one behind.
Permanent Secretary (Core Education) at the MoE Dr Shamsiah Zuraini Kanchanawati Tajuddin and officials from the Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam were also in attendance during the meetings.
Prior to the ministerial roundtable meetings, Permanent Secretary (Core Education) at the MoE Dr Shamsiah attended the Asean Education Forum on June 8 to discuss among issues on pertinent information, research findings and sharing of best practices to enhance the accessibility of education for marginalised and disadvantaged children and youth. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
