KUCHING: The Malaysian University English Test (Muet) format might undergo a refinement to match the international standard that would afford acceptance for tertiary education abroad.
HRH Raja Nazhatul, accompanied by Yap (second left), visits the exhibition booths set up in conjunction with the conference. Also seen is Ganakumaran (left).
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching said the review to improve Muet standard would see Malaysian students not having to sit for IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or Toefl (American Test of English as a Foreign Language) as a prerequisite to enrol in a foreign university.
“Muet has a purpose to enhance English language ability of six formers and other pre-university students, and to equip them with appropriate level of proficiency in English in preparation for tertiary education. Since its implementation, Muet is accepted as a credible and reliable instrument to measure candidate’s English language proficiency.
“As a measure for improvement, the Examination Council is calibrating Muet Bands and Description against the CMR Bands and Description,” Yap said when delivering her keynote address at the 23rd Malaysia English Language Teaching Association (Melta) and 12th Asia TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) International Conference 2014 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching here yesterday.
Also present were Her Royal Highness (HRH) Raja Puan Mahkota Perak Raja Nazhatul Shima Sultan Idris Shah who is a strong supporter of Melta, association president and conference organising chairman Assoc Prof Dr Ganakumaran Subramaniam and Asia TEFL president Prof Lee Hyo-Woong.
Over 1,000 delegates from 78 countries attended the three-day conference that started yesterday and will end this Saturday.
At a press conference held after the opening ceremony, Yap said the review of Muet was currently in progress. She explained that the study would take time as the ministry would need to analyse the programme thoroughly.
“It does not necessarily be an overhaul but the ministry needs to consider all factors and at the same time use the Blue Ocean Strategy to see what items to be eliminated, areas needed to be increased or reduced and what items needed to be introduced to students,” she said.
She further said the ministry’s seriousness in improving English language proficiency culminated in the appointment of a seven-member independent professional body called the National Council for English Language Quality and Standard.
Entrusted to review and monitor current programmes while advising future ones, she elaborated the council was tasked to undertake the development of a national English language roadmap which charts curriculum, teacher learning and assessment from preschools to university, including teacher education.
An exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) also took place at the press conference between Melta, represented by Ganakumaran, and the Teacher Education Institute Campus for International Language, represented by its director Rohana Kamaruddin, detailing collaboration between the two organisations.