PETALING JAYA: The upcoming Education Blueprint 2026-2035 will impose firm key performance targets, including a requirement for students at both the primary and secondary school levels to obtain at least a grade C in four core subjects - Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics and History, says Mohd Azam Ahmad.
“These are mandatory targets. If they are not achieved, we must ask why,” the Education director-general said in a televised interview, as reported by Sin Chew Daily.
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On top of that, he added, the Education Ministry has also set a target for 90% of students from upper primary to Form Five to meet the passing standard in physical fitness and health assessments.
Mohd Azam explained that the Education Blueprint 2026-2035 is structured around seven core pillars forming an overarching strategy, alongside firm indicators and short-term “quick wins” aimed at delivering early results.
Among the priorities under the seven pillars, he said, are ensuring the education system is inclusive, dynamic and relevant; maximising every student’s potential through meaningful learning experiences; and strengthening infrastructure and support systems across Education Ministry agencies while improving teacher quality and overall system efficiency through cross-agency collaboration.
The director-general stressed these targets should not only be reflected in examination results, but also in classroom teaching, school activities and teacher-student interactions.
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“This is not about gathering a large number of teachers in one place and simply discussing how to improve our national language and English.
“Instead, we hope to ensure teachers themselves have a high level of professional competence, while adopting a teaching method that is most suitable for students based on local conditions.
“The Education Ministry will also use mechanisms such as Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to allow schools to independently plan the most suitable programmes and activities within an established tactical framework,” he said.
To ensure effective implementation, Mohd Azam said the Education Ministry has established a dedicated unit to continuously monitor progress, adjust strategies where necessary, and ensure reforms reach schools and classrooms.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to officially launch the Education Blueprint 2026-2035 on Jan 20 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), he added.
Meanwhile, the director-general acknowledged that some of the targets under the Education Blueprint 2013-2025 could not be achieved as scheduled due to disruptions caused by the pandemic, as well as challenges arising in the post-pandemic era.
The previous blueprint, he said, was planned to be divided into three phases; reform, consolidation and a results-harvesting phase.
“We should have entered the harvesting phase between 2022 and 2025, but we faced the major impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“At the same time, some goals were not achieved as scheduled due to technological changes and shifts in social thinking after the pandemic,” he said.
Following a comprehensive reassessment, he said the Education Ministry developed the new blueprint themed “Closing Gaps, Raising Quality, Celebrating Success”, which is a continuation of the previous blueprint.
Mohd Azam said the core values of the new blueprint will emphasise the concept of human-centred education, as previously highlighted by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, stressing that the goal of education is to nurture “holistically developed individuals”.
“In other words, the individuals we nurture must achieve balanced development in knowledge, skills, cognition, psychological well-being and emotional maturity.
“This can only be achieved through a long-term and continuous educational process,” he said.
On funding, Mohd Azam said all education allocations, particularly those related to professional development, must be properly disbursed to enable schools to carry out initiatives under the blueprint.
