Government Transformation Programme on Education

KUALA LUMPUR: Highlights of the Government Transformation Programme to improve educational outcomes:

• To increase the pre-school enrolment rate from 67% to 72% by involving four- and five-year-olds;
• To raise the literacy rate from 87% to 90% and the numeracy rate from 76% to 90% for Year 1 pupils through the Literacy and Numeracy (Linus) programme;
• To develop 20 high performance (HPS) schools this year; and
• 2% of head teachers and principals who exceed the target to be rewarded based on their performance and head teachers and principals who underperform to be reduced by 10%.

Academic excellence among students is vital to produce a more competitive workforce in line with the country’s vision to achieve developed nation status by 2020.

Mindful of the importance of early education for four- and five-year-olds, the Education Ministry has identified pre-school education as one of the foci of the Education National Key Result Areas (NKRA).

To inrease the pre-school enrolment and quality, a National Committee on Pre-School Education with a Pre-School Division will be established to govern all pre-school providers.

The role of the committee, to be chaired by the Director-General of Education, is to develop pre-school education policies for the Government and registered private pre-school providers (including curriculum, qualification, requirements, training and evaluation), coordinate all pre-school providers and evaluate pre-school education outcomes to determine future policy direction.

The ministry will also roll out the National Pre-School Curriculum Standard (NPCS) this year which incorporates principles of holistic education, ensures that teaching and learning take into account the different backgrounds of students, defines the use of Malay, English, Tamil and Mandarin as instructional languages and includes activities to foster understanding of different races and cultural activities.

The Government will also improve the quality of pre-school teachers and teacher assistants through training programmes to improve the skills of 30,000 existing and new staff in three years besides elevating the minimum requirements for these teachers to a bachelor’s degree.

In developing pre-schools, the Government will also standardise the aid to government pre-schools, including giving equal per capita grants to pre-schools set up by the Education Ministry, Kemas and JPNIN, and increase the number of pre-school classes, especially for four-year-olds, to 10,000.

Towards this end, the Government will increase public-private partnerships in pre-school education by offering new incentives and subsidies to private pre-school providers.

To reduce the drop-out rate, the Government is emphasising command of basic literacy and numeracy skills to enable the children to be more productive and confident to participate in local community activities and in the society as a whole.

Screening will be conducted three times a year, in March, June and September, up to Year 3 to help identify pupils to be placed under the Literacy and Numeracy (Linus) programme which emphasises the application of the concepts learnt.

To meet the shortage of teachers to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills, 17,000 teachers will undergo intensive training between last November and February this year to deliver the new Linus modules effectively.

The Government will also monitor and supervise the bottom 10% schools, build confidence among stakeholders through awareness programmes and activities and appoint facilitators to help literacy and numeracy teachers in schools.

The ministry has also announced 20 schools as high performance schools (HPS) comprising 10 fully residential schools, four secondary day schools and six primary schools.

The HPS are defined as strong schools with ethos, character and a unique identity which enables them to excel in all aspects of education. They are able to compete in the international arena and be schools of choice of the society.

HPS will be given increased autonomy in decision-making and accountability in the management and performance of the the students.

Head teachers and principals play an important role in planning, coordinating and monitoring the teaching and learning in schools and in ensuring a conducive environment for learning by reducing external pressures and interruptions and establishing an orderly, supportive environment, both inside and outside classrooms.

Based on a simulation of past performance, it is estimated that 2% of head teachers and principals will be eligible for reward according an annual appraisal report score of more than 90, an unqualified financial audit report, free from disciplinary actions and achievement of school literacy and numeracy targets (for primary schools).

Both financial and non-financial rewards like a payment of RM7,500, accelerated promotion and a certificate of recognition will be given to those who exceed targets while those who underperform will be given training and guidance to help them improve their performance.

However, if they continue to perform poorly, actions such as transfers and voluntary separation will be taken. — Bernama

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