NILAI, June 24 — Form Six education in the country should not be too bound by school rules but be given some space even though it is conducted on school grounds, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
The Form Six environment needed to be changed as it was really post-school-like matriculation, as school sessions ended in Form Five.
“I will bring it up with Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek so that Form Six is not treated like school, the culture and environment. I agree because I also went to Form Six.
“For Form Six, we need to determine the methods so that the way teachers treat (students) and the environment needs to be given more space so they can be free, to interact, unlike school rules,” he said during an interview session at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), earlier today.
Anwar added many Sixth Formers have complained about the rules and culture, and urged for it to be changed during previous dialogue sessions.
On suggestions to change the Form Six curriculum to the semester method, he said the matter should be discussed with education experts, as well as teachers and students.
Anwar also urged university leadership to reshuffle new knowledge-based curricula like Digital Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) quickly to suit current changes if Malaysia wanted to be a first-class country.
“It does not need to wait for the Convention Board of Studies, two-year studies, and be brought to the Senate. You can’t. Change has to be quick and fast,” he said while sharing that world-class universities such as Oxford University, the United Kingdom and Georgetown University, Washington, moved very rapidly in education transformation, based on his teaching experience there.
In addition, industrial training was needed so that there was no mismatch and overdependence on the old curriculum to reduce unemployment rates.
“That is why Petronas is now involved in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes in Batu Rakit, Kimanis and Pengerang; Proton has taken over TVET in Pekan and several other big companies have taken over,” Anwar said.
Local graduates have extraordinary skills, so the government will ensure the capacity will increase in accordance with industry needs.
Touching on unemployment, he said there was a drop in the national unemployment rate but it did not mean the problem has been addressed, especially when it involved graduates.
The Prime Minister said investments are needed, along with a strong and stable government with clear policies to create more job opportunities to reduce the pressure of unemployment.
“The way to solve this is that the government needs to find ways to garner investments, for instance, Geely (China’s automotive company — Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd), which would open up 4,000 jobs.
“According to Geely, we have a skilled workforce, just that there are still some deficiencies. I have discussed with the Higher Education Minister (Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin) to find out what these companies need,” Anwar said.
He noted the government has requested that additional training be provided to students during their talks with Khazanah Nasional, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), and Petronas.
The Prime Minister also responded to a question by a TVET student on adding more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, stating they would be increased when the production of EVs rose.
“That is called energy transition. Petronas will be holding a major international conference this Monday and I will be presenting some main points on our policy regarding energy transition in Malaysia, including EVs,” he said.
Anwar also commended Sarawak for being one of the best states in reacting to digital issues as well as the use of hydrogen technology and EVs.
— Bernama
