11 January 2013  

Education bleprint: Focus on four initiatives in first 100 days

By V. SHUMAN AND AISYAH SULAIMAN    

             

PUTRAJAYA: THE Education Ministry will focus on four initiatives under the National Education Blueprint (2013-2025) within the first 100 days of this year, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.

They are:

IMPLEMENTING the School Improvement Partners (SI Partners) Plus and School Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC) Plus systems in Kedah and Sabah;

ASSESSING 70,000 English teachers through the Cambridge Placement Test (CPT);

PARENT support groups to be set up at 10,000 schools nationwide; and,

THE E-Guru Video system to be used in all schools.

These will be carried out under the ministry’s 1Agenda programme, which combines all the initiatives from the National Key Results Area (NKRA), the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) and existing programmes.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the SI Partners and SISC systems were to guide teachers in the subjects of Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mathematics, especially at schools in band five, six and seven.

“The two programmes will benefit the school heads, principals and teachers. For example, through the SISC Plus, teachers have the opportunity for in situ training directly, according to their needs,” he said in the ministry’s New Year message delivered here.

On the second initiative, Muhyiddin said the teachers would be divided into three categories based on their test results. Extra coaching would be provided for those who met the proficiency level set.

For the the third initiative, parent support groups would be set up at 10,000 schools nationwide to promote closer liaison between schools and parents.

"They are not to take over without the agreement from Syabas, and not without earlier discussions on the matter," he said here yesterday.

Chin was responding to Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's statement that the state government wanted to take over water operations from Syabas to resolve the water crisis in the Klang Valley and avert such problems in the future.

Chin, however, stressed that the Federal Government was not preventing the Selangor government from stepping in and taking control of Syabas, as it (the Federal Government) does not have any equity shares in the company.

"With all due respect to Khalid, if Selangor wants to take over, we will not stop them from doing so, provided they go through the proper channels and negotiations," he said, stressing that it was within the state government's powers to do so as they had equity shares in Syabas.

However, Chin said the Federal Government had one golden share in the company, which was used to monitor and if necessary, overrule certain actions by Syabas.

Syabas is 70 per cent owned by Puncak Niaga Holdings Berhad and 30 per cent owned by the Selangor government via Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (15 per cent) and Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (15 per cent).

The Federal Government, through the Minister of Finance Inc., holds one golden share in Syabas, which requires the written consent of the Federal Government to be obtained prior to any asset disposal or merger.

Chin also said the Federal Government was ready to assist in any form of expenditure or planning for future needs.

"This is not just about who can take over.

"This is a national issue that affects the public and needs to be addressed through cooperation from both the federal and state governments." Additional reporting by Sukhbir Cheema and Nuradilla Noorazam

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin giving his speech before officially launch the Annual Special Message Ceremony, Ministry of Education Malaysia at PICC. NSTP/Fariz Iswadi Ismail.

New Straits Time 11 January,2013