Malaysia Education Blueprint: Preliminary report; what I like about it

Investing in education is one of the main priority of governments all over the world as it is one of the main pillars of development. In recent days, we hear about incidents all over the world attempting to transform educational policies, like in America, particularly in Chicago where teachers held a strike which started off last week, demanding better assessment for teachers and many more, meanwhile on Tuesday, here in the UK it was made known that the infamous GCSE will soon be replaced with the English Baccalaurate in 2017 , finally back at home, our country the release of the preliminary report of the Malaysia Education Blueprint for the period of 2013-2025 received rather mixed reactions all over. So yes, as you can see, this month not only marks the beginning of a new academic year to most of us, rather the air carries with it the essence of global educational overhaul. Countries all over the world have endlesssly work their way over the years to come up with the best possible approach to educate its people as it is a delicate process with high stakes to the nation's economy.

Before proceeding any further, let us focus on what is going on at home in our lovely Malaysia. One of the few things i personally like about the blueprint is the fact that they have made secondary schooling mandatory. I know that this may seem like such a minute step for some of you, but as the world moves forward, our society is expected to be able to do a lot more than just read, write and count. Make no mistake that these skills are still equally important because they form the basis of higher learning, but given the advancement in this day and age, we need to acquire more than just those basic skills to enable our country to advance into a developed status. 

Secondly, i personally praise the effort made in the attempt to create a fast-track system for high achieving students. Though i could honestly admit that i am not one myself, but i applaud the ministry for taking such a huge leap of faith with this. Not because it is unfair for them to stay in school for the same length as regular performing students, instead these brilliant students should be given the freedom to advance ahead giving them all the space needed to further develop themselves by acquiring more skills or they could use the extra time to maybe explore their passion, get to know what exactly they want to do in the future given that they have such bright minds.

Thirdly, the review on the incentive scheme for teachers is yet another major stepping one expected by many for a very long time. As many are aware, teachers nowadays have substantial roles to play not just as educators and role models but also as civil servants, carrying out administrative duties alongside their time in the staff room looking at their students' homework. Hence by right the reward scheme and better career progression plan for teachers should be made aligned to compensate them for the increased work burden. I am personally delighted to hear that the top 30% of graduates are going to be recruited as teachers because in a way this reflects that the ministry is not playing around when it comes to the issue of educating our future generation. Yes, some may argue that top learners may not necessarily be top teachers, but I for one would prefer to think that with appropriate training plus a little bit of patience they have the potential to be groomed as excellent educators.

But having said all that, I have to admit that yes there are few important things which are missing from the blueprint. As a personal fan of the PPSMI (Pengajaran & Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris), days before the report was made public I was kind of rooting for some sort of replacement mechanism to be put in place addressing the subject. Unfortunately, I was wrong. To me, I really think that to learn science and Maths in English is the best way to go like in the days of Mahathir, but the thing that turned the whole matter upside down was the fact that the implementation was made too quickly that our schools and teachers are caught off guard. 

I could go on and on commenting on this, but thus far I guess I better stop here for now. No matter what you think of the blueprint, but do keep an open mind as this is just the preliminary report. So stay tuned for more! And I expect more from you, Ministry!

I leave the rest to you.......