New journey: The Higher Education Ministry is in the final stages of finalising the MEB HE 2025-2035, as the current plan ends this year. Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir told Parliament in February that the draft will be presented to the Cabinet soon before it is launched. – File photo
Continue focus on ilmu, akhlak and adab for nation-building
The Malaysian Education Blueprint (Higher Education) (MEB HE) 2015-2025 is concluding this year, and a review is imperative as a new blueprint is being formulated.
MEB HE was developed in tandem with the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Preschool and Post-Secondary Education), and both are based on the National Higher Education Strategic Plan 2 Malaysia’s Global Reach: A New Dimension, and the National Higher Education Action Plan Phase 2 (2011-2015). All education in Malaysia is guided by the National Education Philosophy.
Since the inception of MEB HE in 2015, many changes have occurred, necessitating adjustments and amendments. Early on, the concept of Industrial Revolution 4.0 and its corollary Education 4.0 became popular, resulting in the Higher Education Ministry issuing an interim report, Framing Malaysian Higher Education 4.0: Future-Proof Talents, in 2018 to guide higher education.
Subsequently, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, necessitating a scramble towards online teaching and learning. In response, the Education Ministry launched the National Digital Education Policy in 2023 to address gaps in digital fluency among students and teachers.
The popularity and severity of Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Covid-19 have respectively abated, and we are currently witnessing the ascendency of artificial intelligence (AI). Inevitably, AI will also become ubiquitous and other terms, concepts and issues become prominent.
At the international level, education matters are guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Sustainability Agenda (GSA) and the concept of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), popularised by the United Nations Global Compact.
Malaysia has taken cognisance of SDG 4, which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning. This is reflected in the Malaysian Qualifications Framework Second Edition (2024), which introduces and promotes Values-Based Education (VBE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
It appears that higher education in Malaysia is not short of frameworks, blueprints, plans and policies. Ultimately, the objective is to improve the quality of higher education and contribute towards nation-building.
A large portion of our national budget is devoted towards higher education, and we have made gains in terms of university rankings. Nonetheless, we cannot rest on our laurels and need to ensure we are getting optimum returns from our national investments in higher education.
As I reflect on quality in higher education, my thoughts are drawn towards my overseas alma maters. I had the opportunity to study at three renowned institutions, namely, Pomona College (United States), Oxford University (United Kingdom) and Nanjing University (China). These institutions have long-standing mottos that have withstood the test of time.
Emblazoned on the Pomona College gates is: “Let only the eager, thoughtful, and reverent enter here.” On Oxford University’s coat of arms is Dominus illuminatio mea (“The Lord is my light”) and on Nanjing University’s seal is: “Sincerity with Aspiration, Perseverance with Integrity.” These institutions do not subscribe to short-term slogans or catchphrases.
My local alma maters also have mottos – Universiti Utara Malaysia’s is “Ilmu, Budi, Bakti” (Knowledge, Virtue, Service) and Universiti Sains Malaysia’s is “Kami Memimpin” (We Lead).
However, a visit to their campuses reveals other slogans and proclamations, such as “Ensuring a Sustainable Tomorrow”, “The University in a Green Forest” and “Transforming Higher Education for a Better Tomorrow”. By themselves, all these slogans are good and meaningful, but collectively they tend to dilute and draw attention away from the universities’ core mottos.
The point I am making here is the importance of consistency as an aspect of quality. Quality can be defined differently in different institutions, sectors and contexts, but a stream of consistency must flow. Consistency leads to meaningful standards and benchmarks for which to measure goals and objectives.
Thus, it is imperative that consistency be the hallmark of the upcoming blueprint. A prominent feature of MEB HE is its 10 shifts, and Shift 1 – holistic, entrepreneurial and balanced graduates – should be the cornerstone of the upcoming new education blueprint.
The MEB HE envisions that every graduate will have disciplinary knowledge and skills (ilmu), ethics and morality (akhlak), along with the right behaviour, mindsets, cultural and civilisational literacy (adab).
The targeted outcome is to nurture Malaysians as global citizens with a “strong Malaysian identity, ready and willing to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, society, nation and global community”, which beautifully aligns with the National Education Philosophy.
Indeed, a consistent focus on ilmu, akhlak and adab within the context of our heterogenous policy can elevate the quality of Malaysian higher education and significantly contribute towards nation-building.
Dr Wong Teik Aun, a principal lecturer at the Centre of Australian Degree Programmes at INTI International College Penang, enjoys writing on subjects close to his heart and has published On the Beaten Track Nepal: The Himalayas, Symphony and Synchrony: An Orchestra of Ideas and Tales of Animal Lovers. He has also contributed numerous academic articles to internationally ranked journals. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
