Bigger reforms in national education soon, says PM

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is pushing for bigger reforms in the national education system, according to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

He said the reforms could be expected once the Special Taskforce have reviewed in entirely the national education policies, from preschool to tertiary, and complete their findings next month.

“The reforms, among others, will touch on several key areas, namely English language, quality of teachers and employability of graduates,” he said in his keynote address at the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Annual General Meeting and Luncheon, here yesterday.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir also noted that talent development was critical for the future, and for a small nation like Malaysia, every person counts toward raising the productivity of the nation.

“Developing Malaysia’s talent pool, whether through traditional education, structured and industry-driven Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes, or simply on-the-job training and development, is a shared endeavour that needs cooperation between the public and private sector.

“We know that talent will be the key differentiator as foreign investors make their deployment decisions over the coming years, and we understand that we, the government, must equip our younger generation with the core competencies to prepare them for the industries of tomorrow,” he said.

Mahathir said apart from TVET, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates would be increased by making it more accessible, experiential dan meaningful as they too would feed the demands of the future. Bernama