Digitalisation of country's education system needs to move faster, says Mustapa

JELI - The digitalisation of the country's education system needs to move at a faster pace, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

He said this was necessary to suit to the current situation and the needs of industry which requires highly skilled workers.

He noted that the passage of time now was dynamic and sometimes the skills possessed by the workforce were no longer relevant to the needs of industry, causing employers to offer low salaries.

"The issue of higher salaries is a big one, but it needs to be in line with the improvement of skills that the people must possess as needed by industry.

"Investors who come to Malaysia need highly skilled workers and this is the way (greater digitalisation) to ensure higher salaries. We need to train young people to be highly skilled and be of quality in the required fields and this will definitely ensure they get high salaries," he told reporters after officiating a tourism infrastructure project in Bukit Salor, here today.

Prior to this, the media had reported that Malaysia's position in the Average School Years reflected a lack of skills among local workers, resulting in low salaries offered by employers.

Commenting further, Mustapa said digitalisation in the education system was now being implemented continuously through primary, secondary schools, vocational colleges and universities to improve the skills of the people.

"What’s important is that the changes need to be in line with the current situation because it is dynamic, changing rapidly in line with the needs of industry.

"The government is always making changes to the national education system through the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Human Resources to improve skills among the people to get employment opportunities,” he said. - BERNAMA