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Showing posts with label Education Ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education Ministry. Show all posts

Tuesday 30 January 2024

‘Education needs to level up’; Closing gaps in maths and science


THE world is seeing a digital revolution that is advancing technology beyond human skills.

To turn things around, the education system needs to put in a place the kind of learning that will move people ahead of the technology of modern times.

That, said Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) director for Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher, is about knowledge, skills and mindsets.

In the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT, he said teaching the young how to frame questions, navigate ambiguity and manage complexities, instead of teaching them the answers, is of utmost importance.

“We know how to educate second-class robots – people who are good at repeating what we tell them but the kinds of things that are easy to teach and easy to test have also become easy to digitise and automate,” he said.

Drawing on an OECD study that tracked the extent to which AI could surpass typically gifted humans in education, he noted a clear improvement in the performance of generative AI in just one year in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) (see infographic).

“You can see AI is advancing at a breathtaking pace. We need to accelerate our progress,” warned Schleicher, who leads the team that oversees PISA.

Creativity, he asserted, is one of the most central resources in the 21st century that education can foster to help people grow in their competence.

“If you want your kids to be creative, you have to give them space to experiment. When they experiment, they take risks and if they take risks, they make mistakes. If our education systems do not help students learn from and with mistakes, they are not going to be so creative,” he said.

Citing the teaching of science as an example, he said making students believe in scientific paradigms, giving them numerous exercises to rehearse, and testing them on whether they remember the answers have nothing to do with scientific enquiry.

“Scientific enquiry is not about reproducing the established wisdom of our times but about questioning it. And that is true for many subjects,” he said.

He added that rather than teaching students knowledge like physics and chemistry, educators should put more emphasis on helping them to think like scientists.

“That is going to be useful and sustainable. If we just teach fixed knowledge and skills, the risk they are going to become obsolete is quite high,” he said.

Speaking at the Educational Publishers Forum (EPF) Malaysia 2023, held virtually on Nov 22 last year, he added that learning literacy is no longer about extracting knowledge from prefabricated text; it’s about constructing knowledge.

“Instead of repeating and reproducing what you learn, you need to learn to question what you see, and triangulate different information. They are very different skill sets,” he said.

He added that students must have the capacity to see the world in different lenses and appreciate different ways of thinking.

Pointing to the massive rise in the “wisdom of the crowds”, where a large number of people put their ideas into the mix on social media, Schleicher also emphasised the need for students to be equipped with digital navigation skills.

“In many countries, the majority of 15-year-olds are born into this digital world but they are not digital natives.

“You will not become automatically skilled – education needs to invest in this,” he said, adding that the ability to distinguish fact from opinion and integrate different information sources is the kind of skill needed to make use of the digital world.

Nurturing a growth mindset, according to Schleicher, is another focal point of importance to help students forge ahead.

“The mindset we create among students is an incredibly important predictor for their willingness to engage with new problems and address challenges.

“Education systems that develop students’ growth mindset tend to also excel academically, while those that have a fixed mindset typically show a lower academic performance.

“If students have a growth mindset, it’s a mirror of how they have been educated,” he said.

Students with a growth mindset, he explained, know that if they invest effort, they can overcome barriers whereas those without it believe that success is largely about the intelligence they inherited and there is nothing they can do about it.

In fact, he continued, the growth mindset is needed at every level of the education system, including policymakers, teachers and publishers.

He added that one’s willingness and capacity to learn, unlearn and relearn will also be essential.

“In today’s world, you have to learn for jobs that have not yet been created, to use technologies that have not yet been invented, and to solve social problems you cannot yet imagine.

“So, having a willingness to engage in the novelty, and to give up some of the favourite beliefs, knowledge and skills in order to acquire new ones, is absolutely essential – that’s a real test for education today,” he said.

Themed “Developing 21st Century Students: Policies, Strategies & Educational Materials”, the EPF Malaysia 2023 was organised by the Malaysian Book Publishers Association.

Calls for edu reforms in M’sia


Less volume, more depth


Malaysia has put very interesting reforms on track but there can be less emphasis on the volume of content – Malaysian students learn a lot of things. Instead, place more emphasis on depth and diverse ways of thinking. That is the most important transition the modern world will require for students in Malaysia.

Learning environments can be more student-oriented and teachers can go beyond the instructional component and become better coaches and mentors to their students – that’s very important to mediate the impact of social background.

Engage teachers in more collaborative professional development. You need to get teachers in a space where they also become lifelong learners.


– OECD director for Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher

Strengthen school curriculum

The curriculum is by far the most important ingredient in determining what students are able to do at the end of their schooling.

A fantastic teacher with a terrible curriculum is going to have a hard time ending up with successful students. And a teacher who is struggling is going to be supported by a terrific curriculum, so all teachers benefit from a strong curriculum. It’s something that policymakers should be reviewing on a regular basis. There is good data worldwide. We’re leaving a lot of good ideas on the table by not paying attention to what other folks are doing.


– University of Virginia, United States, psychology professor Dr Daniel Willingham


Ensure quality content

You can have highly-trained teachers teaching in classrooms with the most up-to-date devices and software but if the content being taught is second-rate or worse, then students will not get the education they deserve and your country will be left behind. If we want to reduce inequalities, then high-quality resources produced by professional educational publishers and adapted to deliver the government’s curriculum is what will guarantee progress.


– International Publishers Association president Karine Pansa
Focus on leadership

We need to review our curriculum assessment and pedagogical approach. First, the Education Ministry (MoE) should collaborate with stakeholders to reassess the curriculum. Second, it should redefine the role of teachers. Our teachers are imparting knowledge that can be obtained online. Allow teachers to learn, unlearn, relearn, and be mentors and facilitators. The focus should be on leadership as stated in the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB) 2013-2025.


Malaysian Association for Education president Datuk Satinah Syed Saleh 

  Decentralise the MoE 

 We need to decentralise the MoE. All schools should have a board of advisers. We have intelligent people in the community who can be advisers. This is about community-centred, rather than standardised, education. We need to do away with the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exams. Instead, if students want to enrol into university, they can take a certain kind of exam for the course they want to pursue. Our mindset is industry-based. We need to move away from teaching people to be nuts and bolts. Learning should be lifelong. Universities need to redefine the significance of diplomas and degrees. The world has changed.


UCSI University architecture professor Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

Address shortfall

Our National Education Philosophy is clear about producing holistic students in four aspects: intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual. But how well we are implementing this in classrooms is something we need to address. The MoE needs to engage regularly with stakeholders.

We have to prioritise our initiatives. For example, we are not spending enough on providing professional development opportunities for teachers, even though it was recognised in the MEB.


University of Cyberjaya and Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur adjunct professor Prof Datuk Dr Rajendran Nagappan

Replicate trust school model

The Trust Schools Programme, launched by Yayasan Amir and the MoE in 2010, came up with a model to transform teacher pedagogy skills underpinned by cultural change. It entails the schools shifting from a teacher-centric to a student-centric approach, and from teaching to the test to creating a positive learning environment that unleashes the potential of each student.

We have 94 trust schools across Malaysia, involving at least 10,000 teachers and benefiting more than 200,000 students. The MoE has the intention to replicate the model but hasn’t caught up yet.


- LeapEd Services chair Shahnaz Al-Sadat Abdul Mohsein



TO improve performance in mathematics and science, educators and learning materials need to transmit excitement of the subjects to students.

Referring to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) 2019, International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) executive director Dr Dirk Hastedt said students who liked the subjects scored significantly higher than those who didn’t.

In fact, the over 100-score point difference translated to more than a year of learning.

“It’s very important that students like learning these subjects,” he stressed, adding that learning materials should be designed to engage both boys and girls to narrow the gender gap seen in TIMMS 2019, where girls outperformed boys in many countries, including Malaysia.

Hastedt also said students’ self-confidence in mathematics and science strongly correlates with their achievement, with more than a year of learning separating those with confidence from those without in the same study.

“What we can see from our data is that learning materials need to be targeted and supported by positive attitude to these subjects.

“We need students with a ‘can do’ attitude,” he asserted.

He added that it is important to have prerequisites such as language mastery.

“From our Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), we can see an increasing percentage of boys struggling with language.

“If you don’t have language capacity, it’s more difficult to learn mathematics and science,” he said.

Other strategies Hastedt recommended for improving student performance include incorporating software tools in learning and providing support for underprivileged students.

“Some students may understand better when using learning software managed by teachers. This enables more individualised learning,” he said.

However, he emphasised that this requires not only the availability of computers but also the presence of software administrators and technical support in schools – more importantly, teachers trained in using digital devices efficiently in teaching.

He also said digitalised instruction requires more than just transferring paper materials into a digital format.

“New digital materials that are engaging and helpful need to be developed. It requires a support structure and teachers need to be trained to use the software and help students learn in a digital environment,” he said.

Hastedt added that it’s important to move international assessments to the same digital format used in teaching and learning.

Cognisant of the need to keep up with the times, the IEA, which conducts TIMMS, introduced its fully digitised version, eTIMMS, in its 2023 cycle, he shared.

“We have to recognise that students today engage with the digital world through digital media and mobile phones. They find this more engaging than traditional methods. We have to keep up with the interest,” he said.

Hastedt, however, cautioned that digitalisation could exacerbate gaps in learning.

Citing a study on digital competencies, he said the gaps between different socioeconomic groups are huge – “larger than for reading, mathematics and science”.

“Digital competencies are not always well covered in countries’ curricula, and teachers sometimes don’t teach these competencies,’ he said.

A focus, he emphasised, is needed on the most vulnerable student groups as early as possible, starting from kindergarten or the early grades.

Citing a TIMMS study that highlights a difference of more than one year of learning between students from disadvantaged and affluent backgrounds, he noted that in Malaysia and many other countries, students with challenging socioeconomic backgrounds struggle more often with mathematics and science achievements.

“A focus on supporting students from lower social economic background would not only benefit these students, but also enhance the overall achievement of all students due to the positive peer effect.

“And if teachers can concentrate on all students because of a good level of knowledge, that benefits all students in the country,” he concluded.

Related posts:

Malaysian education heavily politicised, Quality & English standard not up to par!





Thursday 26 December 2019

Jawi, a simple education matter is threatening to morph into a serious political issue?

Dong Zong president Tan (seated second from right) with other Dong Jiao Zong leaders at a press conference on Dec 12.


CHINESE educationists and guild leaders are going to display solid unity on Dec 28 – thanks to the Education Ministry’s move to marginalise the board of directors (BOD) in vernacular schools over a Jawi teaching issue.

Dong Jong and Jiao Zong, collectively referred to as Dong Jiao Zong, have championed the cause of Chinese education since the 1950s.

This coming Saturday, heads of Dong Jiao Zong from 13 states, as well as top leaders of 30 other national Chinese associations will be congregating at Dong Jong Building in Kajang to take a stand against a set of new guidelines on the teaching of Jawi issued by the Education Ministry to non-Malay schools.

Leading Chinese groups Huazong and Hoklian have declared their support promptly.

Hua Zong president Tan Sri Goh Tian Chuan said Chinese guilds need to unite in opposing the government’s move.

“The position of the Chinese community on Chinese language education, especially on this subject, needs to be consistent,” he said.

The bone of contention lies in the new guidelines issued by the Education Ministry on the teaching of Jawi scripts for Standard Four pupils in Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

In the guidelines issued earlier this month, the teaching of Jawi scripts will be optional. But if 51% of parents vote in favour of it in a survey conducted by Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), then schools will have to teach Jawi.

In this PTA survey and voting process, the school BOD is totally left out.

Responding to Dong Jiao Zong’s Dec 12 press conference, deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching told Bernama the ministry prioritised the opinion of the PTAs as well as the parents and students themselves.

Heng: 'We are concerned that once the precedent (of sidelining the school board) is set, school boards will lose their voice in future policies affecting Chinese primary schools.
- Datuk Eddie Heng Hong Chai

“We will let the PTAs make the decision because it’s about their children’s learning. Parents are the guardians, so you should get their consent if you want to do anything,” she said on Dec 13.

But to the Chinese community, the BODs are the dragon heads of schools. Hence, they cannot be sidelined in any decision-making. In a Chinese school, BOD members – who could include businessmen, parents, alumni and trustees -- are expected to donate money, raise funds and formulate policies.

As government funding for Chinese primary schools is often lacking, raising funds for development and repairs of schools often rest on the shoulders of the BOD.

Dong Jiao Zong has argued that this new guidelines not only “defies the decision made by the cabinet”, but also “goes against Article 53 of the Education Act 1996” in which authority is vested in the BOD in schools.

“By allowing the parents to have the final say on this matter, the harmonious and amicable relationship among parents and students from different races will be undermined. This will also marginalise the school board as well as PTA,” Dong Jong chairman Tan Tai Kim said in a statement last weekend.

Dong Jiao Zong’s statement also noted that in the new Bahasa Malaysia (BM) textbook for Standard Four, the appreciation of Chinese caligraphy and Tamil writing are left out.

In the past, pages on Jawi, Tamil and Chinese writings appeared in the Standard Five BM text book; and Dong Jiao Zong was happy with the multi-racial content.

The new BM text book for Standard Four contains three pages on Jawi scripts, without Chinese and Tamil writings.

“The key point to note here is: we are not anti-Jawi or anti-Malay or anti-Islam. There is no issue if students are asked to learn all cultures. But we don’t want to see the gradual Islamisation of Chinese schools and the marginalisation of BODs,” says a Chinese educationist, who declines to be named.

Due to the sensitivity of this matter which could be racially or religiously distorted, Dong Jiao Zong -- the organiser of the Dec 28 meeting – has advised invited community leaders to register early.

In the latest statement on Wednesday (Dec 18), Dong Jiao Zong said to ensure the meeting could be effectual and held smoothly, no one is allowed to bring banners and other publicity materials to display slogans.

Provocation is the last thing Dong Jiao Zong wants to see, given that there are already two Malay groups challenging the constitutionality of Chinese and Tamil schools in the country.

The congress is likely to adopt a resolution urging the Jawi Scripts Learning Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education to be withdrawn, and the text book be amended to reflect multi-culturism in the country.

Apart from Dong Jiao Zong, there are other independent groups and political parties voicing similar concerns.

One group that recently sprang up is the one led by Datuk Eddie Heng Hong Chai, who heads the school board of SJK(C) Sentul KL.

At a recent press conference, the businessman opined the teaching of Jawi calligraphy in vernacular schools should be a co-curricular activity.

His group, consisting of representatives from vernacular school BODs and PTAs around Kuala Lumpur, has called for a dialogue with Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik.

“I wish to emphasise that we are not against the teaching of Jawi in schools. We are only opposing the ministry’s decision to include it in the Bahasa Melayu syllabus, ” he told a joint press conference with an Indian group.

“We are concerned that once the precedent (of sidelining school board) is set, school boards will lose their voice in future policies affecting Chinese primary schools, ” Heng said.

With school boards being the founder and pioneer for Chinese primary schools for over 200 years, Heng said school boards always had the authority in deciding school policies.

Gerakan, a political party in the former government, last week announced its plan to appeal against an earlier high court ruling that the court has no authority to interfere with Government decision on introducing Jawi into vernacular schools.

From the education point of view, many academics – irrespective of race – do not see the need for students to learn Jawi.

They have asked: What could students learn from three pages of Jawi in a year? Is there any benefit to their future career? Shouldn’t there be more emphasis on the teaching of English, Science and Maths to prepare Malaysians to be competitive internationally?

Indeed, this current education issue is not the first to stir up an uproar this year.

The first controversy erupted several months ago when the Education Ministry attempted to introduce khat (Arabic calligraphy) into vernacular schools. This decision was later withdrawn after many quarters opposed it.

But the new set of guidelines on Jawi writing is creating another unwarranted chaos.

There is suspicion in the Chinese community that there are elements within the Education Ministry scheming to gradually change the character of Chinese schools.

This deep-rooted mistrust against the Ministry cannot be easily erased because Chinese education has often come under different forms of suppression since the 1950s.

From the political perspective, there is talk that the ruling parties are pandering to ultra Malay politics to gain Malay support.

As the controversy escalates, the DAP – a major Chinese-based party in the ruling Pakatan coalition – appears to be the one feeling the most heat.

This is because the DAP drew most of its political support from the Chinese and Indians in the last general election.

The DAP leaders in Cabinet are expected to reflect the fear and sentiment of the non-Malays to the Education Ministry and the Prime Minister on the Jawi issue.

But so far, only Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow – also a DAP national leader – has openly voiced concern over this baffling issue and said it should be resolved speedily.

If the voice of non-Malays is not taken seriously, and the government continues to ignore inclusive politics, the ruling Pakatan coalition risks being rejected by the people.

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Read more:


Chinese educationist group has democratic right to organise congress



Dec 28 gathering a consultative meeting, not racial stand-off, says NGO 
Wee: Dong Jiao Zong gathering about vernacular education, not race


Dr M: Any rally protesting teaching of Jawi calligraphy will split country further


Jawi issue: Anwar urges all parties to call off gatherings


Dong Jiao Zong stands firm



Dr M’s old ideas clash with new realities in KL Summit


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