SHAH ALAM, Dec 12 — The Education Ministry (MOE) will continue its efforts to help students missing out on education due to multidimensional poverty to bridge the disparity among students while improving their performance in the upcoming Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) report.
Its minister Fadhlina Sidek said several successes had been achieved through her ministry’s initiatives and efforts over the past year and hopes all stakeholders will stay on the same path to improve Malaysia’s education quality.
The factors leading to the decline in academic performance include the long closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic and multidimensional poverty, like the lack of devices, limited Internet access, and the lack of opportunities for education.
“We have addressed all of these issues and will continue to do so. This includes introducing the digital education policy, which we want to improve in the context of the upcoming PISA study,” she said.
Fadhlina was speaking to the press after witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Selangor Technical Skills Development Centre (STDC) and the MOE.
She added these efforts include literacy and numeracy programmes, which are part of the ministry’s initiatives throughout the year.
Malaysia’s Pisa performance last year dropped in all three literacy measures assessed, including literacy in reading, mathematics, and science, compared to the 2018 score.
As for complaints from parents about the extravagant spending associated with graduation parties in hotels, Fadhlina hopes for a dialogue between parents and schools, including through the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA).
“There needs to be a consensual discussion between the parents and the school where the programme is run according to their means,” she said.
— Bernama
