KUALA LUMPUR: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers will need to undergo industrial training after working hours to improve their skills.
Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said this is part of the ministry's efforts to boost and ensure that lecturers have the necessary skills to teach in their respective fields.
He said at the moment, some lecturers are lacking in terms of hands-on experience and expertise.
“I am puzzled that many of our lecturers do not have the specific skills needed and even if they have, many are academically-inclined and are not hands-on.
“I and (Human Resources) deputy minister have decided for these lecturers need to enroll for industrial training after their office hours (so they) can obtain the expertise required for them to teach well,” he said.
Kulasegaran said this during committee-stage wrapping-up speech on the Supply Bill 2019 for his ministry at the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said another issue was the logistical problem, which included the isolated and far-off locations of TVET institutions.
“As an example, I visited a technical institute at Padang Serai recently.
“The location is far from industrial areas and its (future) direction (future) is unclear. This is making it difficult for our children to study there.” Kulasegaran said.