Report on education review to be ready in three months

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BANGI: A comprehensive evaluation report on the review of the country’s education system would be ready in three months said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said a review of the country’s whole education system was being carried out to understand the policy guidelines for achievements and developing the basics based on challenges faced by the school system with focus on efforts to improve standards and narrowing disparities.

He said the first dialogue session on the review was held with heads of the Education Ministry, and would be followed by a series of dialogues with other stake holders, including members of the public and experts.

“We want the Ministry heads to understand the objective of the review and all dialogues will be an open affair.

“The process is not to identify or point the fingers at who is right or wrong but all views and recommendations will be taken into account,” he told reporters after opening the National Education Dialogue and National Education Dialogue website here yesterday.

Muhyiddin said after the dialogue series, the ministry would conduct dialogues with School Heads Council, Headmasters, Teachers Association, District Education officers and teachers.

“We will then engage the public with a series of dialogues and those interested to take part can register themselves through the website,” he said adding that at least one dialogue session per state would be organised.

Muhyiddin said apart from the review and dialogue sessions, the views of foreign experts in the field of education, from Canada, Singapore and South Korea would be considered.

“I have no indication of what will be the outcome of the report but we have identified nine main areas that will be discussed and debated in the dialogue sessions,” he said.

Asked if a new education policy would be introduced, Muhyiddin said the current system was already good but added that if there was a need to amend any policy, it may be considered as long as such an amendment would not change the entire perspective of the system.

Earlier in his speech, Muhyiddin said the transformation of the national education system must have a big impact in the development of students and not just a cut-and-paste change to restore the education system but rather a quantum leap that can bring about a total change.

Muhyiddin also named five new members of the National Education System Evaluation Panel, namely Professor Tan Sri Kamal Hassan, Datuk Dr Adi Badiozaman Tuah, Professor Datuk Chuah Hean Teik, Professor Madya Dr N Rajendran and Dr Abdul Kadir Rosline.

He had last December appointed a panel of experts from various sectors with Albukhary International University vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak as the chairman. — Bernama