Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah
MIRI: Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Education Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah has proposed a holistic and pragmatic approach with no public exams until Form 5 for Malaysian students and a university entrance examination be adopted in the national education system review.
Fatimah said this in response to the statement by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in New York during a dialogue at the Asia Society there who was asked on what needs to be done to improve the country’s education system.
“ I totally agree that there should be a review of our education system but it should not change just for the sake of change but based on need,” she told The Borneo Post.
The Malaysia premier at the dialogue said the education system needed to be revised to make English more widely used and to inculcate noble values among children as English is a universal language and emphasis on teaching values plays a very big role in the development of society.
Fatimah said the outcome of the national education system review should be proficient communication skills in Bahasa Malaysia as language of unity in multi-racial Malaysia and conversant in English as universal lingua franca.
“The outcome should also be students with 21st Century skills, critical and creative thinking, problem-solving skills and ICT-competency,” she said.
The minister, who is a former educationist before taking up politics, also listed noble values, respect for differences in a multicultural, multiracial and multireligious Malaysia as vital.
She hoped to see the Malaysian education system to be child-centred where it develops and supports child’s learning and progress instead of being overly result-oriented.
“Assessment should be school-based and not for ranking purposes in the classroom, nor ranking the school overall performance but assessment of how much learning (progress) and for learning (enrichment or remedial purpose),” she added.
She disagreed with the practice of sending school-based assessment results to the state education department and Ministry of Education, saying it involved unnecessary paperwork and workload for teachers.
“The focus should be the child learning and wellbeing right from pre-school to Form 5 and early childhood education must be considered as an integral part of the national education system.
“Brain development rate is highest when the child is below 5 years old . Quality nurturing and educating at this stage lay the foundation for quality human capital of the future,” she pointed out.
Fatimah also pointed out that physical activity should be made part of the school culture in early childhood education through active play while for school-age children through physical exercise (PE) lessons, participation in sports to reduce sedentary behaviours.
“Schooling process must be meaningful for students and teachers as well.
“It becomes meaningful to students when their learning and wellbeing are given ample focus by their teachers,” she pointed out.
However, Fatimah said for all these changes to take place in Sarawak, the federal government should empower the state to implement changes according to its needs.
“This means devolution of power and autonomy in education for the state as provided under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). This would empower the state to make changes. When you empower, it is easier for Sarawak.”
However, she pointed out that the federal government is still obligated to finance the educational needs of the people.