How to reform Malaysia’s ailing educational system
Francis Loh looks at how greater autonomy, devolution of powers and decentralisation can raise Malaysia’s educational standards and restore trust in the teaching profession.
The 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) scores show that Malaysia is getting left behind in the race with its East Asian neighbours, with whom Malaysia competes for foreign direct investments.
As we enter the era of the knowledge economy in the 21st Century, driven by the increasing use of IT, the relative grasp of our workers in gaining skills and knowledge will determine where we stand vis-à-vis our competitors – whether in front, alongside, behind or far behind them.
We must give concerted attention to the entire area of human resource development if we do not want to lag behind our competitors. Human resource development also contributes towards steady economic growth and ultimately escaping from the so-called “middle-income trap”. If we are serious in focusing on such development, we must give our youth special attention and the required opportunities.
Malaysia lags behind
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development – the OECD – conducts the Pisa survey to measure the ability of 15-year-olds to apply their skills and knowledge to real-life problem-solving in reading, mathematics and science. The youth surveyed come from OECD countries and some non-OECD ones.
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