KOTA KINABALU: In the second part of an interview with Education director-general Datuk Seri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusuf talks about the ministry‘s plans next year
NEXT year, the Education Ministry will focus on ensuring all targets under the initiatives set out under Wave One of the Malaysia Education Blueprint are met.
There will thus be added emphasis on initiatives such as producing students with Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), improving command of the English language in secondary schools, and the Teacher’s Charter.
Its director-general, Datuk Seri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof, said the Ministry will focus on achieving the targets set for the initiatives under Wave One as the phase ends next year.
Focus will also be on further strengthening unity, encouraging the involvement of the private sector and community in the learning ecosystem.
“The Blueprint is ultimately to ensure that our students are not only prepared to face future challenges but are also able to contribute towards moulding their own future.
“We want students who not only use or adopt technologies but also invent technologies that can change the world,” said Khair.
Therefore, he said honing of thinking skills must extend beyond students to also include teachers, school administrations, and officers within the Ministry itself.
“We give support not only to students but also the teaching staff through continuous professional development.
“Support is also given to school administrators through the School Leadership Charter and at the same time parents and the community could also participate and assist in shaping students,” he added.
Khair said to achieve the targets, all efforts will be taken by the management level of the Ministry, State Education Departments and District Education offices to roll out the initiatives agreed upon.
This would include focus on implementation at various levels.
“Each implementation agency such as the department director and district officer would manage people, resources and finances, as well as ensure each achievement is in line with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the Ministry.
“That strong implementation element would be at the systems level.
But on the individual level, we would stress on rapid execution.
One way is by forming implementation groups via WhatsApp.
“This ensures all members including division directors and state education directors are directly connected and easy to reach.
“The ‘Program Turun Padang KPM’ meanwhile depicts that classroom as a source of energy and nucleus of change.
We believe that positive vibrations and slight ripples of improvement in the classroom will create a strong wave of transformation,” he added.
Teachers, he said, needed to be agents of change by becoming ‘architects’ - act on and prioritise urgent tasks, and assess the results.
In relation to that, Khair said the Ministry would also continue to participate in international education assessments.
“The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessment was conducted from October 28 to 30 this year, involving 207 schools and nearly 10,000 students across the nation.
The results will be known next year and we hope our country will improve in rankings compared to previously.
“In 2015, Malaysia, which is involved in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), will go through it in April.
Fifteen-year-old students from 230 schools will participate, and this time, our country will be utilising the computer,” Khair said.
The Blueprint, launched in 2013 and ongoing until 2025, is an effort by the Ministry to uplift the national education system to be on par with the top one-third category of the world’s best education.
The first wave focuses on improving the basic literacy of Malay and English languages plus numeracy, enhancing the quality of teaching, and the strengthening of school leadership.
It is also geared towards increasing the capabilities of State Education Departments and District Education Offices, while ensuring schools are equipped with basic infrastructure.