PETALING JAYA: The Education Ministry should ensure that the curriculum in schools are in keeping with the latest market needs, in light of a World Bank report on the state of the country’s education, a DAP state assemblywoman said.
State legislator for Jementah, Johor, Ng Kor Sim also said that all stakeholders should be receptive to the input contained in the report, “Bending Bamboo Shoots: Strengthening Foundational Skills” so that they could jointly address the shortcomings in our education system.
“This insight (in the report) should spur all stakeholders to urgently address this weakness. One area which the MOE should look into is to ensure that our curriculum is in keeping with the rapidly-evolving market and industry needs.
“As globalisation intensifies while new technological breakthroughs such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and nanotechnology continue to disrupt traditional economies, we want our students to be well-equipped enough to keep up in the global marketplace,“ she said in a statement.
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Ng added that the Malaysian education system should not stick with archaic curriculum or impart students with skill sets that have little to no value in the working world.
Citing her own experience, Ng said her office had sponsored 21 students in her constituency to learn coding, a valuable skill amid the wave of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) which was currently sweeping the world.
In 2022, her office also sponsored 20 laptops to needy students in Jementah and this went up to 30 units last year.
Ng also called on the Johor government to increase the budget to help needy students catch up on their studies and pick up market-driven skills sets.
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The State Government, she added, could also look into building more technical, vocational education training (TVET) centres or increase the budget to existing ones, considering the growing acceptance towards skills training now.
“Education is not just about passing exams or chasing paper qualifications. It is about equipping our children with the technical know-how for them to navigate the sea of uncertainty, when they enter adulthood. It is also to ground them with the right moral compass,“ Ng added.
Among others, the World Bank report said that Malaysian students lagged behind its neighbouring countries in learning outcomes. Supposedly, only 58% of Malaysian students are proficient in reading by the end of Standard 5, compared with 34% in similar economies.
The Education Ministry has since said that it was looking into the report as part of its efforts to upgrade the level of education standards in the country.
