Panel to review education policy

KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has formed a 13-member committee to review the national education policy.

Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said the National Education Policy Review Committee would carry out an in-depth review of the policy and also the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013-2025), and the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2015-2025) (Higher Education).

“The committee members have expertise in various fields including education policy, teacher training, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), education technology, arts and also in areas outside of education such as disparity, (social) gap and humanity,” he told reporters after presenting the appointment letters to the committee members yesterday.

Dr Maszlee said the committee had been tasked to come up with new and innovative ideas for the education system.

These committee members would also have to come up with ways to upgrade the curriculum, he said. They are expected to present their report in April next year, he added.

Committee chairman Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid said the public had complained about the state of Malaysia’s education system.

Although the policies were good, he said there was a gap between the policies and their implementation.

“We are not reinventing the wheel,” he said.

Among the committee members are Microsoft national technology officer Dr Dzaharudin Mansor, Kendall Court Capital Partner chairman and Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation commissioner Yeo Kar Peng, Universiti Teknologi Petronas Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning director Assoc Prof Mohammad Tazli Azizan, Khalifah Model School ustaz Hasrizal Abdul Jamil, Global School Leaders Malaysia country director Cheryl Ann Fernando, USM arts education alumni Janet Pillai, and KinderKaizen and Sri Aria Elementary School founder Dr Putri Afzan Maria Zulkifli.

On another matter, Dr Maszlee announced that a proposal to abolish a section in the Universities and University Colleges Act (Auku) and a section in the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act would be tabled in Parliament in December.

He said that these sections touched on students’ freedom and involvement in politics.