KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants the leadership of institutions of higher learning (IPT) to be given the space to spur innovative ideas in the country’s education.
The Prime Minister said the move was important to ensure institutions of higher learning in the country can compete at regional and global level and thus producing graduates who are disciplined and of high quality.
“The Higher Education Ministry only needs to coordinate the programmes to prevent overlapping or arising problems but giving more space to universities, will see more better programmes if we do not change the leadership at institutions of higher learning,” he said at the Higher Education Ministry Strategic Discourse at Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre which was also attended by Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir today.
Based on his experience as a teaching staff including as a visiting fellow at several universities, Anwar saw that the western education system has weaknesses despite its advantages in several aspects, including higher learning discipline.
High discipline and serious efforts to gain knowledge, said the Prime Minister, are necessary for students in this country to be more competitive, for example in terms of developing better quality, useful studies.
“I don’t think we can compete in the world of education, against China, Taiwan, Finland and other countries if students are not highly disciplined,” he said.
Touching on the issue of language, Anwar said that although the use of Malay is prioritised in teaching and learning, institutions of higher learning should also look at the importance of improving the quality of English proficiency among students from now.
Taking the example of Indonesia and Thailand, he said that although both countries are seen as serious in prioritising the use of their respective mother tongues, the proficiency in English among their youth at local universities is much better than in Malaysia.
“So, let’s not have a fit at the mention of language, or have a phobia about learning to master the Malay language,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also invited thinkers, intellectuals and academicians to jointly help him overcome the country’s weaknesses, besides raising the desire of young people in learning.
“Essentially for the country’s thinkers, the priority is to use the space to improve our weaknesses, our priority is to educate our children so that within five or six years they can confidently compete with the more developed countries in the world.
“It’s not easy but I am confident in the strength of the Unity Government and although it is very broad, I did not face a single major problem when it came to formulating important priorities whether economic, investment, digital or energy,” he said.
The two-day Higher Education Ministry (KPT) Strategy Discourse starting today aims to realign strategy, formulate the strategic direction of the KPT, propose programmes or initiatives as well as discuss strategic issues related to KPT and suggested solutions for this year.
The objective of this discourse is conducted in the form of several interactive presentations and forums by presenters and panel members and experts in their respective fields
— Bernama
