A new World Bank report, “Bending Bamboo Shoots: Strengthening Foundation Skills” emphasizes a concern over the education system in Malaysia.
Former Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry of Malaysia, Rafidah Aziz, has demanded quick changes to the educational system in a recent World Bank report that painted a “worrisome” picture of the national educational standards.
Malaysian students acquire the equivalent of only 8.9 years, regardless of spending an average of 12.5 years in school, as stated in the report. Also, the report said that 42% of Malaysian students did not acquire reading expertise by the end of Standard 5, which is comparatively greater than other nations with similar gross national income per capita (34%).
“If these problems are not resolved, Malaysia will fall far behind in important areas like socioeconomic development and productivity. A significant transformation is required in several areas, such as education policies, structure, system, content, and delivery,” Rafidah explained.
She also recommended the government organize brainstorming sessions and discussions with experts and stakeholders in the fields of education and pedagogy to resolve the issues highlighted in the World Bank Report. Based on research, Malaysia ranks “far behind” its ideal peers, such as Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Singapore, in reading science and mathematics by the time the student is 15 years old.
She also advised that teachers and educators preparation is of utmost importance to ensure that there are no gaps and that lessons meet both the needs of the nation’s economic sector and its present and future requirements.
The World Bank Report underscored that, in addition to limiting access to high-quality early childhood education, additional factors influencing Malaysia’s subpar educational results included insufficient techniques for assessing teacher preparation and performance.
Source : FMT
