Sarawak to emulate Victorian approach to early childhood education

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MELBOURNE: Sarawak will develop a strategic plan to emulate Victoria’s approach to early childhood education.

For that reason, a Sarawak delegation was here to compare, benchmark and study the best practices, policies and models in Australia for application in the East Malaysian state, said Sarawak Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Hajah Fatimah Abdullah.

“We hope to develop a proper strategic plan (in early childhood education) for Sarawak, one adopts the Victorian strategic plan and perhaps, a five-year one (plan).

“Access and equity are the key things we want to deliver to Sarawak in education. Sarawak is a vast area and many people, you know, are far from the urban centre.

“Some people do not (even) have the infrastructure to go to schools in the urban centre.

“Hopefully, with a proper strategic plan, we can obtain funding from the (Malaysian) government,” she said when addressing a networking function hosted by the Australia Malaysia Business Council (AMBC) at the Matrade here yesterday.

Fatimah is leading a 15-member Sarawak delegation on a five-day study trip here to learn from Australia, approaches to early childhood and primary education, as well as the empowerment of women and welfare.

Earlier, she met with officials of the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Its deputy secretary, Dr Sonia Sharp, said the department valued the chance to work with Malaysia and looked forward to continuing to share ideas with the Sarawak delegation.

“At the end of the day, it’s a small world and our children will grow up in a small world and will make their way out to work with many different cultures,” she said.

Rosey Yunus, Assistant Minister of Early Childhood Education and Family Development, observed that while the teaching methods and approaches in Victoria were less academic, they were more creative.

“The way they approach topics and encourage creativity among children is enlightening. They also encourage more outdoor activities.

“Even from a single tree branch, for example, how they encourage children to think and imagine from a tree branch, is truly enlightening and is something we don’t do back home,” she noted.

Meanwhile, Fatimah said Melbourne was picked for the Sarawak ministry’s case study because of its proximity to Malaysia and more importantly, it was recommended by Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem, both of whom were educated in Australia.

“We should develop ‘networking schools’, where schools network and share information with each other, regardless of borders. We hope to continue to connect with our Victorian counterparts here to exchange ideas in education, sports and even culture,” she said.

The delegation will visit early childhood centres here as well as community, private and research based centres, primary schools and universities, as part of its study visit.

In welcoming the delegation, AMBC Victoria president Joe Perri said Australia had much to offer in services and education and encouraged Malaysia to seek support and help to advance its programmes. – Bernama