KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has set up a 13-member Committee comprising experts to study the nation’s education policies.
Set up as an independent body, members of the National Education Policy Committee received their letters of appointment from Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik at the Parliament building today.
The appointments are for a period of six months, from Oct this year to April next year.
“The committee will give a recommendation based on independent research on the overall education policy of the country,” said Maszlee in a press conference after the ceremony.
The committee will also study the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (pre-school until secondary education) and the 2015-2025 Malaysia Education Development Plan (Higher Education) with the cooperation from the National Education Advisory Council (MPPK), and submit a recommendation to the minister.
The committee members, led by Malaysian Association for Education (MAE) and Malaysian Society of Education Administration and Management (MSEAM) president Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, have a wide range of expertise that covers education policies, management training, STEM, educational technology, arts and other fields beyond education such as imbalance, gap and humanity. Many of them such as Hasrizal Abdul Jamil from Khalifah Model School, also have vast experience from abroad.
Also present was Deputy Education Minister, Teo Nie Ching.
Speaking at the press conference, Ibrahim said that the first draft of recommendations from the committee would be ready by December 2018 and the second, by February 2019.
The penultimate draft of the report willl be presented in March just before the final report in April 2019.
“We are not reinventing the wheel,” said Ibrahim, “There are already so many good policies that have already been implemented.”
“However, there is a gap between the policies and the implementation that we are seeking to address.
“Our aim is to produce a comprehensive study report to help improve the nation’s education system.”
The committee is tasked with providing innovative ideas in redefining the national education system to create a holistic Malaysian society, among others.
It will also be reviewing national education policies and approaches in the existing teaching and learning processes, and will study and recommend the direction of the education system in Malaysia from pre-school to university, with the goal of making government schools the preferred choice of students.
The committee will engage stakeholders and people from all walks of life.
It will carry out a benchmarking process in line with the education system of other countries to formulate suitable recommendations for the Malaysian education climate.
“We shall carry out a comparative study of successful education systems in developed countries and take what we can apply to our national education system,” Ibrahim added.
“If we find that the education system needs change, and it is not necessary to focus solely on examinations as an educational benchmark, we will recommend it.”
Source: Hanna Sheikh Mokhtar – October 18, 2018 @ 7:15pm
New Straits Times