PH abandoned a big education project, Maszlee Malik says
SHAH ALAM - Former Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik admits that Pakatan Harapan (PH) had abandoned a 'big project' capable of changing the country's education system.
He said that the project was in the final stage but could not be carried out because of the change in the government.
"We left a big project which is the report of the National Education Committee where they proposed total reform in a proposal called the New Education Model," he disclosed.
He said this on the Sinar Live program titled 'Challenges and Future of Education', broadcasted on all Sinar Harian platforms.
He said that the plan had been presented to the Cabinet in 2020 and was slated to be implemented in 2021.
"The final goal is that in 2023, our education will be on par with Singapore in terms of mathematics and science, on par with Finland (teachers and schooling), on par with Japan in terms of values and discipline and on par with Germany (vocational and skills)," he said.
He said, unfortunately when the leadership changed, the Ministry of Education (MOE) did not want to continue the project.
"I have also brought this matter to Parliament and now what happened was the government abolished the UPSR and PT3 exams, which is not what the people want," he explained.
He also added that the issue faced by oustpoken teacher Mohd Fadli -- who was subjected under a disciplinary review for publicly speaking about the plight of Malaysian primary school children -- that had gone viral recently, was a true reflection of the reality in MOE.
"For example, the results of data obtained by international bodies show that Malaysia is one of the countries that is not proactive and is a bit behind in the effort to restore the education system after Covid-19.
According to Maszlee, the government today is not doing the proper rehabilitation measures in education like other countries.
"It is true that every time, a large allocation budget is given to the MOE but the details of the recovery process do not happen.
"If we look at the order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in September 2021 at the start of Parliament, His Majesty clearly stated that there will be a need for the collaboration of all parties across politics and ideology to create a committee to draw up a long-term plan for post-Covid-19 education," he said.
