Ensure everything in place before implementing Malaysian Higher Education Sector Blueprint
SIBU: The government should hold a dialogue with stakeholders and ensure that infrastructure, facilities, and manpower are in place before implementing the Malaysian Higher Education Sector Blueprint (PPPM-PT) 2015-2025.
Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) said responses from the public, universities and other related parties must be gathered to ensure its success. STU president Jisin Nyud said education in the country had gone through tremendous changes over the years as the government tried to meet the demands of the 21st century.
“The intention of the government to address the challenges of the higher education sector is to make Malaysia a leading education hub globally. That is noble.
“However, like the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025, there is a need for dialogue, feedback, and views from the public, stakeholders and universities.
“This is important, like what the schools are experiencing now. The government must ensure that all the necessary things needed, such as the infrastructure, facilities, and manpower, are there before implementing the plan.
“The next step is – are we ready for this?” Jisin said this to The Borneo Post when commenting on a Bernama report that the Education Ministry was coming up with the Malaysian Higher Education Sector Blueprint (PPPM-PT) 2015-2025 to give the national higher education system a quantum leap.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the blueprint would have 10 core thrusts, to, among others, produce graduates who are all-rounders, holistic, and have minds of entrepreneurs.
Jisin described the Education Ministry’s move to give the national higher education system a quantum push as timely, given some of the jobs today required skills and knowledge that did not exist some 30 years ago.
In this regard, the education system needed to look into what skills today’s students would need in future and teach accordingly, he added.
He admitted, however, that it was not easy as all the universities had their own policies and provisions to comply with.
An important aspect was the role of the Malaysian government qualification agency (MQA), an agency set up by the Ministry of Education to enforce the Malaysian Qualification Act 2007.
“This agency is responsible for the quality assurance of higher education for the public and private sectors.
“Haven’t they done enough for our higher education all this while?”
Meanwhile, educationalist Felician Teo said the new Malaysian Higher Education Sector Blueprint 2015-25 must give priority to addressing graduate employability issues.
He added that the curriculum must be industry relevant.
Young graduates coming into the job market must have the relevant skill sets that included critical thinking, problem solving, and English language competency, Teo opined.