KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's performance in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) has tremendously dropped despite showing an improvement since its participation in 2009.
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Wong said that based on the 2022 findings, Malaysia had fallen behind Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei in all three assessed literacy domains – mathematics, science and reading.
"A total of eight Asean countries participated in Pisa 2022 out of 81 countries.
"The findings revealed that while we have fallen behind Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei, we have outperformed Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia in all three literacy domains.
"At the same time, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development also reported that the Covid-19 period had affected many education systems worldwide due to the implementation of movement control order as well as extended school closures," he said during the minister's question time in Dewan Rakyat, today.
Wong said this in response to a question from Nurul Amin Hamid (PN-Padang Terap) who enquired about the government's course of action over Malaysia's declining performance in Pisa.
Following this, Wong added that the ministry had identified several aspects that required improvement, including the need to review the content of the national curriculum, the use of digital devices for learning as well as reassessing the optimal distribution of resources including teachers, devices, infrastructure, teaching materials, among others.
"We are confident that the continuous efforts can enhance the country's education and the result can be seen through Malaysia's performance in the upcoming assessment."
In January, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called for the preschool education system in the country to be reviewed immediately to ensure students are not left behind.
Anwar added that the move was necessary due to the decline in students' performance in the 2022 Pisa, adding that issues including digital infrastructure, curriculum, as well as additional facilities, must be provided to ensure the performance of students is on par with neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile, Wong added that the ministry was enhancing its efforts to improve literacy in both science and mathematics subjects in schools following concerns over the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools.
"At the moment, we still rely on Classroom-Based Assessment (PBD) which includes the implementation of the Academic Session Final Examination (UASA) for year four to year six students.
"The quality of these tests is monitored by the ministry, particularly through the Examination Board, and efforts are being made to improve literacy in mathematics and science as we are deeply concerned about the development of STEM subjects.
"The current uptake (for STEM) is at 47.13 per cent and we are striving to achieve a STEM subject uptake rate of 60 per cent."