Category: Education

by Mariah Doksil
Borneo Post
December 21, 2013

KOTA KINABALU: Likas assemblyman, Junz Wong has urged Deputy Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap to explain why more than 50 per cent of federal scholarships allocated to Sarawak and Sabah students to pursue their education in local universities allegedly had no takers and as such given to students in Peninsular Malaysia.

He said it is impossible for Sabah not to have students who qualified to receive federal scholarships, especially when the government is very proud to have one of the best education systems in the world.

“The ‘loss’ is not the latest story for Sabah and Sarawak, as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Joseph Entulu has revealed that it has been going on since 2008.

“According to Entulu, only 499 out of 1,000 scholarships allocated for both states were successful in their application in 2008, while in 2009 only 402 successful. He also said the situation was the same for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012,” said Junz in a press conference at Bandaran Berjaya Shangri-la Hotel, yesterday.

Also present were DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, DAP Sabah chief Jimmy Wong, Kepayan assemblyman Dr Edwin Bosi and Batu Kawan MP Kasthuriraani Patto.

Junz made the call after Kit Siang called on the government to set up a Parliament Select Committee for the amazing performance in the recent Penilaian Menangah Rendah (PMR) examinations. Continue reading “No graduate in Kota Marudu village – DAP”

The greatest blooper for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is his cowardice to own up to the deteriorating educational standards of Malaysians students evidenced in the 2011 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) released in December last year and 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) released this month.

Ironically, the deteriorating educational standards of Malaysian students, particularly in the more than four years with Muhyiddin as Education Minister, has been ironically highlighted by the “superlative” 2013 Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) results, to the extent that both the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Muhyiddin had publicly congratulated students who excelled in the PMR exam.

The 2013 PMR results are better than last year, with 30,988 or 7.33 per cent of the over 462,940 PRR candidates nationwide who scored Grade A in all subjects – an increase of 0.41 per cent or 514 candidates over last year’s 30,474 Grade A straight scorers.

It is most ironical that the “superlative” 2013 PMR results with 30,988 or 7.33 of the students in the 2013 PMR attaining top scores of all As in all subjects stand in sharp contrast to the 2011 TIMSS, where only two per cent of Malaysian students reached the grade of “top scorers” and 2012 PISA with only 1.3 per cent of Malaysian students scaling the “top scorers” bracket.

Why such a vast contrast in the results of the local PMR examination and the two international educational assessment benchmarks? Continue reading “Greatest blooper for Muhyiddin as Education Minister is his cowardice to own up to deteriorating educational standards of Malaysian students evidenced in TIMSS 2011 and PISA 2012 which is ironically highlighted by the “superlative” 2013 PMR results”

I join the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in congratulating the top scorers in this year’s Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination, in particular the 30,988 or 7.33 per cent of the over 462,940 PMR candidates nationwide who scored Grade A in all subjects – an increase of 0.41 per cent or 514 candidates over last year’s 30,474 Grade A straight scorers.

However, both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have been singularly silent over the 2011 TIMSS and 2012 PISA results which show Malaysian students very low down in international educational standards, and they should explain the reason for the vast discrepancy in the local PMR examination results with international educational assessment results like 2011 TIMSS and 2012 PISA.

With 7.33 per cent of students scoring straight As in all the PMR subjects, this should mean that the Malaysian national education system has produced over seven per cent of our students who are world-class “top scorers” comparable with their peers in the rest of the world.

However, this is not reflected whether in the 2011 TIMSS or 2012 PISA results. Continue reading “Which assessments are Malaysians to believe – PMR or PISA/TIMSS?”

The greatest disservice to the nation by the Deputy Prime Minister cum Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is his denial that Malaysia has been in the throes of an educational crisis for the past decade and making the bottom 40 per cent of Malaysians parents and students happy because of the delusion of a “world class” and quality education ensuring excellence for all.

In actual fact, educational standards in Malaysia, whether primary, secondary or university, have seriously deteriorated over the past decade.

What the CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), Wan Saiful Wan Jan, said yesterday should be serious food for thought for all Malaysians.

Wan Saiful accused the Barisan Nasional government of taking advantage of the trust given by the poor by creating an “illusion” that the education system in the country has been reformed. Continue reading “Muhyiddin’s greatest disservice to nation is his denial that Malaysia has been in throes of education crisis for past decade and making bottom 40 per cent of Malaysian parents and students happy because of the delusion of a “world class” and quality education”

The Malaysian Insider | December 18, 2013

A think tank has urged Putrajaya to urgently address what it said was a crisis in the Malaysian education system, following the recent findings that Malaysian students scored poorly in an international assessment test.

The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), referring to the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which saw Malaysia ranked 55th among 65 countries, said the test scores revealed that the country was behind less developed countries such as Vietnam.

Ideas chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan also cited a recent World Bank report titled High Performing Education, which showed a connection between the country’s future economic growth and access to quality education.

“This is an important point, access to education is no longer the main issue. The real issue is access to quality education,” Wan Saiful said, urging the public to pay closer attention to the looming education crisis.
Continue reading “Think tank warns of grim outlook for Malaysian education following poor ranking”

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and the head of Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), Datuk Seri Idris Jala should “walk the talk” to “stop politicizing education” and get the agreement of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet for the establishment of an Opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on Education as a bipartisan response to the “triple whammy” of relentless erosion of educational standards in the country, viz:

* 2011 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study);

* 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment); and

* World Bank’s adverse Malaysia Economic Monitor themed “High-Performing Education”.

If Idris can announce such an agreement by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to the establishment of a bi-partisan Opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, this will be the most cheerful and best end-of-the-year news for Malaysians who had been buffeted by an avalanche of bad news on all fronts in the past seven months after the 13th general elections creating unprecedented division, disunity and negative vibes about the future of Malaysia. Continue reading “Idris Jala should “walk the talk” to “stop politicizing education” and get agreement of PM and Cabinet to establish Opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on Education”

The country has had 15 Education Ministers in the past 58 years since 1955, and the second to the sixth Prime Ministers had all previously helmed this important Ministry starting with Tun Razak (1955-57), Tun Hussein Onn (1970-73), Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (1974-78), Tun Abdullah Badawi (1984-86) and Datuk Seri Najib Razak (1995-99).

Others who had been Education Ministers include Tan Sri Mohamed Khir Johari (1957-59, 1965-69), Tun Abdul Rahman Ya’kub (1969-70), Tun Musa Hitam (1978-81), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (1986-91) and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (2004-2009).

But it is Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who took over the Education Ministry’s portfolio more than four years ago in 2009, who is in danger of being known as the worst and the most irresponsible Education Minister in the nation’s 58-year history.

The question thinking and concerned Malaysians have been asking is what type of an Education Minister we have got when Muhyiddin is completely unconcerned, indifferent and disinterested about the country’s educational woes highlighted by the 2012 PISA and the World Bank’s adverse report on “High-Performing Education” in the past two weeks? Continue reading “What type of an Education Minister we have got when Muhyiddin is completely unconcerned, indifferent and disinterested about the country’s educational woes highlighted by the 2012 PISA and World Bank’s adverse report on “High-Performing Education”?”

The 2012 PISA results have been regarded as a “wake-up” call in many countries, provoking national soul-searching about the efficacy and competitiveness of their education systems compared to other countries, including Finland which fell from its pedestal as the top-performing OECD country, scoring 519 points for mathematics, Canada (518), Australia (504), New Zealand (500), United Kingdom (494) and the United States (481).

Although the first four countries are above the OECD average for mathematics, i.e. 494 points while UK’s score is the same as the OECD average, the US score of 481 is below the OECD average.

Malaysia with maths score at 421 is far behind these countries with our 15-year-old students behind their peers in Finland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK and US by 1.6 to 2.6 school years.

Yet the Finnish, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, UK and US political leaders including Education Ministers or their equivalents, education planners and parents are having a major debate over the 2012 PISA results but in Malaysia, led by the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, there is disgusting complacency and indifference about Malaysia’s poor performance in 2012 PISA.

It is coming to two full weeks but Muhyiddin has yet to say a single word about the 2012 PISA results released on Dec. 3 although the main objective for the quality of our education system in Muhyiddin’s Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2015 (MEB) is to be ranked the top third of countries participating in PISA and TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey).

Instead of boldly stepping forward to assume responsibility for the poor 2012 PISA results as he was already Education Minister since the previous 2009 PISA, Muhyiddin has “run for cover” avoiding any discussion of the 2012 PISA. Continue reading “Muhyiddin’s MEB – “Miracle Education Blueprint” – expects Malaysian students to perform three educational miracles in his 13-year Three-Wave Educational Transformation Plan”

Neal K| October 11, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

Malaysia Truly Asia…what about Malaysia being TRULY Malaysia first?COMMENT

“Lima tiga pound,” says the souvenir vendor in busy Oxford Street London. That many Malaysians throng to England’s capital.

The bargain hunters are mainly tourists travelling in groups or two in one holiday makers who’ve either just settled or visited their children studying here.

You can clearly tell them apart from the upper crusts…and the newly minted Malaysian elites who waltz into the city. The upper crusts, including seasoned business classes, will not be posing in front Selfridges or Harrods for ‘say cheese’ pictures. That’s reserved for the majority of the citizenry…as well as benefactors of ill-gotten wealth who simply cannot hide their simple natures, even in their posh new lifestyles.

Then there’s the section of Malaysians who have made Britain their adopted home. They watch. They feel. And they still talk about ‘back home’. Home is still Malaysia, even for those forced into giving up their citizenship.

Raven, in his 40’s now, came to England to study while in his 20’s, met a beautiful French lady and eventually married her in 1997. Thankfully, his wife Phillipa liked Malaysia and was agreeable to settling down in her husband’s birthplace. As the first born son with filial obligations Raven couldn’t be happier and he quickly got a lecturing job in KL. Continue reading “‘Why I had to leave Malaysia’”

Both the current Education Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his predecessor Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein must be held responsible for the decline and deterioration of educational standards in Malaysia in the past decade, as illustrated by the 2007 and 2011 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and the 2009 and 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment).

This is because Hishammuddin was Education Minister from 2004 – 2009, and must be held solidly responsible for Malaysia’s poor performance in the 2007 TIMSS and 2009 PISA while Muhyiddin, who had taken over the Education Ministry in April 2009, must bear full responsibility for Malaysia’s educational performance in the 2011 TIMSS and 2012 PISA.

I have a vested interest in the performance of Malaysian students in international educational benchmarking, as I was responsible in getting Malaysia involved in the global educational assessments in the first place.

In 1996, I met the then Education Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Run Razak, and persuaded him that Malaysia should participate in TIMSS, as I had emailed the organisers of TIMSS, the Netherlands-based International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), inquiring about Malaysia’s participation in TIMSS as Malaysia had not participated in the four-yearly TIMSS assessment for eight-grade (Form Two) students.

Najib agreed with me that Malaysia should participate in the international educational assessments so that we know where Malaysian students stand with their peers in other countries, resulting in Malaysia’s first participation in a global educational assessment in the 1999 TIMSS. Continue reading “DAP calls for genuine educational transformation to ensure “educational excellence for all students” and not just for 1.3% of the student population with over 51% failures”

The 2012 PISA results assessing 510,000 15-year-old students in 65 countries in mathematics, science and reading have been hailed as “wake-up” calls in the United Kingdom and the United States provoking much national soul-searching about the mediocrity of their education systems compared to top-performers like Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

In Malaysia, however, the government and the education authorities are very complacent and continue to slumber away although Malaysian students are far behind their peers in UK and US in the assessment in all the three subjects.

Compared to the 2009 PISA, Malaysia improved in math but fell in scores for science and reading: math 421, science 420 and reading 398.

These compare unfavourably with the scores for 15-year-old students in UK (math 494, science 514, reading 499) and US (math 481, science 497, reading 498).

Based on the difference of 38 points on the PISA scale being equivalent to one year of schooling, the 2012 PISA results indicate that Malaysian 15-year-old students are 1.9 to 2.7 years behind their peers in UK in the three subjects: math behind by 1.9 years; science behind by 2.4 years and reading behind by 2.7 years.

It is not only Malaysian 15-year-olds who are 1.9 to 2.7 years behind their peers in the United Kingdom in math, science, and reading (and three to five years behind their peers in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Macao and Japan), it is clear that the Malaysian political leaders and education planners are many years behind their counterparts in UK and US in their poor response to the 2012 PISA results. Continue reading “Has the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 become “Miracle Education Blueprint”?”

The latest government research has confirmed 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and World Bank report on “Malaysia Economic Monitor: High-Performing Education” that Malaysia will not produce the highly-skilled workers for the country to become a high-income nation unless there is an educational transformation in Malaysia in pursuit of excellence and not just mediocrity.

Lee Chee Sung, the adviser of Institute of Labour Market Information and Analysis (ILMIA) – which comes under the direct purview of the Ministry of Human Resources – said at the launch of the official ILMIA portal in Kuala Lumpur yesterday that although more than 400,000 job opportunities were created last year, Malaysia is still not a high income nation because it lacks highly skilled workers.

At the same function, the Human Resources Minister Datuk Richard Riot Jaem acknowledged that at the moment, about 28 per cent out of the 12.7 million strong labour force in the country is made up of high-skilled workers and the government’s target is to bring the number of high-skilled workers up to 50 per cent of the total workforce by 2020.

However, both the two important international education benchmarks – 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the 2012 PISA – have shown that Malaysia is doing a poor job in developing the nation’s human capital although it is a fundamental driver of economic growth. Continue reading “Latest government research confirms 2012 PISA and World Bank report that Malaysia will not produce the highly-skilled workers for the country to become a high-income nation unless there is an educational transformation in pursuit of excellence”

Malaysia’s declining educational standards is presently a taboo subject for the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who does not want to talk or to be asked about it, especially after two events in December which highlighted the sad reality that the Malaysia education system is facing a real crisis of confidence, unable to achieve the quality of education necessary to nurture skilled, inquisitive and innovative workers for Malaysia to break out of the middle-income trap to reach the goal of becoming a high-income nation.

These two events were the release of the 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results on December 3, the first day of the week of UMNO general meetings, and the official release of World Bank’s latest Malaysian Economic Monitor themed “High-Performing Education”.

Instead of delegating to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. Datuk Seri Wahid Omar, Muhyiddin should have personally officiated at the release of the World Bank’s “Malaysia Economic Monitor: High-Performing Education” which highlighted the importance of building a high-performance education system for Malaysia’s transformation into a high income, sustainable and inclusive economy.

In fact, the World Bank report is not about Malaysia’s “high-performing education” but how Malaysia has fallen short of producing a high-performing education system based on Malaysia’s poor performances in two international education assessments – the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) where Malaysia’s scores were significantly lower than those in 2003 and 2007 for both Math and Science, and the 2012 PISA, where the Science and Reading scores fell compared to 2010 although the Math score showed improvement. Continue reading “Malaysia does not need any more robotic responses to sliding educational standards but innovative reactions like making public the minimum passing marks of public exams and allowing parents to decide whether to adopt PPMSI”

Free Malaysia Today
The Malaysian Reserve| December 11, 2013

Autonomy in schools will allow the resident learning centres to accommodate local needs and allow ownership by teachers, administrators, parents and students.

by Azli Jamil

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia needs to decentralise its schools, provide feedback to parents on performance and find quality teachers as a crucial step in its race to become a high income nation, according to the World Bank’s Economic Monitor report on High-Performing Education released yesterday.

The report said Malaysia’s education system, which is among the most centralised in the world, makes it difficult to adapt to rapidly changing needs and circumstances.

“Autonomy allows for greater responsiveness to local needs as well as stronger ownership of performance by teachers, administrators, parents and students,” said World Bank country director for Malaysia Ulrich Zachau.

“Schools must have more freedom to hire and fire and also to manage its own budget allocations and curriculum.”

He said autonomy must come with accountability where parents must be more involved in demanding performance from the schools as the parents’ feedback loops and bottom-up pressure are important drivers of systemic improvements.

The quality of teachers is the third priority and is a cause of concern where the key is to recruit and retain the best teachers. Continue reading “Schools should be decentralised, says World Bank”

by Lok Wing Kong
The Malaysian Insider
December 11, 2013

I have predicted long ago that the Education Blueprint 2013-2025 by the Education Minister will not be able to raise the standard of the education.

My prediction is spot on when we were ranked 52nd out of 62 countries for TIMSS and is firmly entrenched at the bottom third place of the Pisa survey, worse than Vietnam.

Singapore is in second place. The young students aged 11 and 12 years from Singapore are better than our 15 years old students in reading, speaking and general knowledge, etc.

I therefore totally agree with former NST editor-in-chief Datuk A. Kadir Jassin that Muyiddin be replaced by the PM’s wife Rosmah Mansor who is more cable and efficient.

Muhyiddin does not fit to be the Education Minister and in fact not fit to be in the cabinet. Continue reading “Our education standard is shamefully low”

The Malay Mail Online
December 11, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Education standards that were deteriorating despite Putrajaya spending twice as much as neighbouring countries on schools could stand in the way of Malaysia’s plans to join the ranks of developed nations, according to a recent World Bank report.

In a report titled “Malaysia Economic Monitor: High Performing Education” that echoes criticism over the recent performance of Malaysian schools, the World Bank highlighted the critical role quality education plays in a country’s aims to gain a high-income status.

In 2011, Malaysia spent the equivalent of 3.8 per cent of its gross domestic product on education, or more than twice the average 1.8 per cent within Asean nations.

“A nation’s human capital, which is largely built by its education system, is a fundamental driver of economic growth,” it said in the report.

“The quality of cognitive skills of Malaysian students, as measured by standardized international tests, is not on par with the country’s aspirations to become a high-income economy.” Continue reading “World Bank: Worsening education obstacle to Malaysia’s high-income hopes”

The Deputy Prime Minister and the Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should ask the American consultants McKinsey & Co to answer the question how Malaysia is to become a “wonder nation” and make the double quantum jump from the bottom third to top third of 2021 PISA in four triennial PISA tests which had not been achieved by any country in the world from 2003 to 2012.

If Malaysia can achieve what no other country could do in four triennial PISA tests to make the double quantum jump from the bottom third to top third of the PISA system from 2010 to 2021, Malaysia will become the envy and even poster boy of all countries in the world as a miracle nation which could make a double quantum jump in educational transformation from a nation of mediocrity to become a nation of excellence through four triennial PISA tests.

Malaysia is presently stuck in the bottom third of the PISA system for all three subjects, i.e. 421 for maths, 420 for science and 398 for reading, when Malaysia needs to achieve scores of 450 for maths, 442 for science and 446 for reading to get into the middle third and scores of 532 for maths, 511 for science and 508 for reading to get into the top third of the PISA assessment.

This is based on 2012 PISA as from the four triennial PISA tests of 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012, the threshold for each third of the assessment rises, for instance, the top performer in maths in 2003 was Hong Kong with a score of 550 while Shanghai topped the 2012 PISA with 613. Continue reading “Muhyiddin should ask McKinsey & Co to answer the question how Malaysia is to become a “wonder nation” and make the double quantum jump from the bottom third to top third of 2021 PISA or reclaim the RM20 million spent on the consultant for the Malaysian Education Blueprint”

Sejak dua hari yang lalu, saya meminta Timbalan Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Pendidikan Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin untuk berhenti membina “mahligai kayangan” dan menggariskan rancangan padu untuk membuktikan bahawa sasaran Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia untuk meletakkan pelajar berusia 15 tahun di Malaysia dalam kalangan sepertiga teratas dalam PISA 2021 bukan angan-angan kosong.

Kini saya faham mengapa Muhyiddin membisu tentang keputusan PISA 2012, ujian tiga tahunan global melibatkan 510,000 pelajar berusia 15 tahun dari 65 buah negara untuk subjek sains, matematik, dan bacaan, yang mendapati pencapaian pelajar berusia 15 tahun di Malaysia dalam ketiga-tiga subjek itu bukan saja di bawah tahap purata antarabangsa, malah mereka ketinggalan empat atau lima tahun di belakang rakan-rakan mereka yang seusia dari negara-negara berprestasi tinggi seperti Shanghai, Singapura, Korea Selatan, Hong Kong dan Taiwan.

Sebagai contoh, untuk subjek matematik, skor 421 yang dicapai oleh pelajar berusia 15 tahun Malaysia adalah lima tahun ketinggalan di belakang rakan-rakan sebaya mereka dari Shanghai (613), empat tahun di belakang Singapura , dan lebih tiga tahun di belakang tujuh buah negara/wilayah lain –Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea Selatan, Macao, Jepun, Liechtenstein dan Switzerland.
Continue reading “Tidak mungkin Muhyiddin mampu mengadakan rancangan untuk melonjakkan Malaysia ke dalam kelompok sepertiga teratas dalam PISA 2021 kerana untuk mencatat pencapaian sedemikian dalam tempoh empat ujian tiga tahunan PISA, Malaysia perlu menjadi “negara ajaib””

In the past two days, I have asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to stop “building castles in the air” or he should outline concrete plans to prove that the Malaysian Education Blueprint for Malaysia’s 15-year-olds to be in the top third of 2021 PISA is no “pie in the sky”.

I now understand why Muhyiddin has been conspicuously silent about the 2012 PISA results in the triennial global test of 510,000 15-year-old students in 65 countries in reading, science and maths, with Malaysia’s 15-year-olds not only falling below the international average in the three critical subjects but ranging from three to five years behind their peers in the top-performing PISA countries/regions particularly in Shanghai, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

For instance, for mathematics with score of 421, Malaysia’s 15-year-olds is five years behind their peers in Shanghai (613), four years behind Singapore, and more than three years behind seven countries/regions – Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Macao, Japan, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

For science, with score of 420, Malaysia is 4.2 years behind Shanghai (580), and more than three years behind six countries/regions – Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Finland and Estonia.
Continue reading “Muhyiddin can have no plans to catapult Malaysia into the top third in 2021 PISA as Malaysia would have to become a “wonder country” to achieve what no nation could do in four triennial PISA tests”

Malaysia mempunyai dua Menteri Pendidikan, namun hal ini tidak menghalang mutu pendidikan dalam negara daripada terus merosot di bawah piawaian antarabangsa, mengubah status kita yang dikenali di tahun-tahun awal Merdeka dulu sebagai sebuah negara cemerlang mutu pendidikan rendah, menengah, dan universitinya, menjadi sebuah negara yang pencapaiannya serba biasa sahaja.

Kita diperingatkan tentang hakikat ini menerusi dua peristiwa pada minggu lalu, iaitu pengumuman PISA 2012 (Programme for International Student Assessment) Selasa lalu dan Times Higher Education BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings 2014 pada hari Rabu lalu.

PISA 2012, ujian global melibatkan 510,000 pelajar berusia 15 tahun dari 65 buah negara untuk subjek sains, matematik, dan bacaan, mendapati pencapaian pelajar berusia 15 tahun di Malaysia dalam ketiga-tiga subjek itu bukan saja di bawah tahap purata antarabangsa, malah mereka ketinggalan empat atau lima tahun di belakang rakan-rakan mereka yang seusia dari negara-negara berprestasi tinggi seperti Shanghai, Singapura, Korea Selatan, Hong Kong dan Taiwan.
Continue reading “Muhyiddin perlu membentuk rancangan padu untuk membuktikan Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia untuk meletakkan pelajar berusia 15 tahun Malaysia dalam kelompok sepertiga teratas dalam PISA 2021 bukan janji kosong”