KUALA LUMPUR: THE 13 e ducation initiatives introduced by the
government under the ‘Aku Janji Kerajaan Persekutuan’ (AKP) (2013-2018) have been fully achieved.
The government’s investment in education is also in line with the country’s aspiration to achieve high-income nation status.
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohammad Shatar Sabran said the education initiatives benefited the people and country. For example, he said, the provision of scholarships gave opportunities to students to realise their dreams.
The AKP programme saw the government, through the Public Service Department, providing five types of scholarship to 49,890 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia students.
Of this figure, 44,000 received the National Degree Programme scholarship, involving RM1.55 billion,
Special Programme of JPA Mara (3,600 students involving RM533.72 million), Special Programmes France, Germany, Korea, Japan (1,300 students involving RM397.58 million), Programme 9A+ (800 students involving RM12.41 million) and National Scholarship P rogramme/National Sponsorship Programme (190 students involving RM82.39 million).
“Malaysia is moving towards achieving a high-income nation status. As such, the government is implementing initiatives to ensure the goal is achieved,” said Shatar.
“One of the main areas of focus is education. Investment in an important area such as education is key to elevating people’s standard of living.
“The government is sensitive to the people’s needs and concerned about their future.”
Head of Education and Human Capital Development Cluster Professor of National Council of Professors Datuk Dr Zakaria Kasa said Teachers’ Graduate Programme (Program Pensiswazahan Guru) was one of the successful education initiatives implemented by the Education Ministry, in collaboration with private universities and institutions of higher learning. He added that 3,254 teachers had benefited from the programme.
Parent Action Group for Education chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said eight new schools built in high-demand areas nationwide were instrumental for the development of children .
“We need to set up more new schools. The ideal student population should not exceed 600 in order for a school to function efficiently.”
She said preschools should employ skilled and quality teachers to ensure a strong foundation was built for students’ future learning.
“The curriculum should comprise 50 per cent of each language — Bahasa Melayu and English.
A strong foundation in education should be built from Year One.”