PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry has achieved the target of developing and establishing at least one High-Performance School (SBT) in each state, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said the ministry accredited 25 more SBTs, bringing the total to 91 under the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) 1.0 from 2010 till Dec 31 this year.
“Buoyed by continuous excellence shown by the 66 SBTs that were previously recognised, the government has agreed to further continue the SBT recognition under the GTP 2.0 from 2013 to 2015 with a target of ten SBTs per year.
“The number of SBTs can reach at least 130 by 2015 if enough schools comply with all eligibility conditions and meet the selection criteria,” he said at the Third Cohort SBT Recognition ceremony here yesterday.
His speech was read by Education Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Rosli Mohamed.
Muhyiddin said the ministry wanted SBTs to become a role model to other schools and prove that the country’s education system could improve and be on par with advanced systems like that of Singapore and Finland in the near term.
To achieve this, he wanted all students especially those in SBTs to show excellent performance comparable to benchmark standards such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) with proficiency in Math, Science and English.
He said students should also master higher-order thinking skills such as applications, problem-solving, participation in co-curriculum activities, and personal development (soft-skills).
Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said the creation of SBT was to ensure that all students regardless of stream, medium, or location (whether urban or rural) would attain continuous excellence.
At the event, RM18.7 million was distributed to the 25 newly accredited High-Performance Schools, with each school receiving RM700,000 that will be used for human capital development, internationalisation, maintenance and minor renovation, and purchase capital assets to help improve the quality of education. — Bernama