Foreword of book on Education
Education has always figured prominently as an integral part of the government’s developmental policy. Our former Prime Ministers have from the time of independence held on to the belief that basic education and higher education is the only way to create a united, disciplined and professionally skilled society that can achieve the goals of industrialisation. Indeed, it is our sound education policies that make Malaysia what it is today. At the time of independence, the government emphasized a common national language and changed the medium of instruction to Bahasa Malaysia in the 1970s in a move to foster unity and this policy has resulted in the peace and harmony so necessary to growth and development. We then emphasised science and mathematics in the 1960s and 1970s as the way to achieve industrialization. We returned to basics in the 1980s with KBSR and, during my tenure as Minister of Education, citizenship education was emphasized which was carried over as values education in the new integrated secondary curriculum, KBSM, because we believe that our industrial society must be an ethical and caring society. Thus, with each educational reform we have carefully sought to preserve the language and culture of each major race in Malaysia and I am heartened to note the inclusion of chapters on Islamic Religious Education and Chinese and Tamil education in this book.
When computers made inroads into our lives, Computers-in-Education was introduced in the 1990s as a tool for teaching-learning in schools and smart schools were introduced when the Multimedia Super Corridor was built. In the 1980s and 1990s higher education, both public and private began to be expanded to produce the pool of professionals so critical to a country on the road towards industrialization. When the Ministry of Education was restructured in the mid-1990s we set up a department specifically to deal with the expansion of private education. This was a time of rapid growth in higher education, both public and private, and reputable foreign universities began to set up branch campuses in Malaysia that together with our local universities will in the years to come spawn badly-needed high-tech workers for a knowledge economy.
Furthermore, it is with this emergence of a knowledge economy and globalisation that we realized the importance of English language competence for Malaysia’s continued progress and development. The present century saw a shift to a bilingual education system when mathematics and science began to be taught in English in 2003. In order to also develop a highly-skilled, middle-level workforce, we began putting heavy emphasis on vocational and technical education and community colleges were established along with a renewed emphasis on life-long learning supported by distance education programmes and the Open University. We did not neglect teachers who form the backbone of our education system and the government has passed various reforms to improve the career prospects, remuneration and conditions of service of teachers.
I was informed that this book is the result of the joint efforts of a team of educationists who are leaders in their own field. It was an ambitious undertaking to successfully cover a broad and diverse spectrum of 50 years of Malaysian education with a focused and in-depth coverage of critical topics that are of current concern to us all today. I would like to congratulate Professor Dato’ Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid and his team of writers for an excellent and insightful book and to Oxford Fajar, the publisher, for their initiative to commemorate the 50 yeas of Malaysia’s independence. As this book has captured in a nutshell the concerns of education in Malaysia today, no academician, educationist or policy-maker should fail to read it and no library should fail to acquire it.
Health Education
STATUS OF PROJECT IN AUGUST 2007
A
briefing and discussion session was held with the CDC desk officer concerning
the
LSBE
HIV/AIDS Preventive Education Programme on 27th August 2007. Numerous
materials
and documents were studied. A site visit was undertaken between 5th to 8th
August
2007 for data collection that will form the input for the documentation that is
to
be undertaken. The interviews that were conducted with secondary school
Principals
and
primary school Headmaster revealed that project was implemented with great
commitment
and dedication on the part of teachers and school management between July
and
September 2005. Pre- and Post Test results showed heightened awareness of HIV/
AIDs
and the dangers associated with it. It also taught preventive behaviours among
the
sample
group such as how to deal with the problem should it exist within one’s family
and
tolerance towards those who may be suffering from it in the community.
The
LSBE did not continue in 2006 and there has been no activity in 2007. Howover,
some
of the teachers who have taught it in 2005 are continuing to teach it. Schools
however,
did not carry out the HIV/AIDS Week which they carried out in 2005.
The
original module that was developed for use in the 2005 pilot has been rewritten
and
called
the hybrid module. It incorporates knowledge content from a module that has
been
developed
by UNESCO.
BRIEF INITIAL ANALYSIS
Life Skills need Greater Emphasis. The life skills aspect of the programme did not
come
through as strongly as it should during the implementation. Teachers tend to
get
carried
away with imparting the knowledge content. Since teachers reported following
the
module closely in their teaching, there is reason to believe that the life
skills aspect
also
did not come through as strongly in the teacher’s module disseminated in 2005
and
in the training course in July 2005. This is unfortunate as a look at the
current
Family
Health and Sexuality Education modules also used in Health Education reveal an
abundance
of examples on preventive and avoidance behaviours that can be used to hone
the
LSBE HIV/AIDS education in the classroom. It may be worthwhile to merge some of
these
lesson activities into the LSBE lessons in the classroom.
The 2005 Module. Teachers
taught LSBE after going through an LSBE course given
by
the CDC for 3 days or through in-house training given by the teachers who
attended
the
CDC course. Only one module was available for both primary and secondary
levels.
It
was said to be rather high with too much scientific terminology in many places.
The
result
was that primary teachers find themselves having to scale down and simplify the
module
to fit the ability level and cognitive development of primary children in Year
4
and
5 who formed the target group. At the same time, it was voiced that organisation
and
sequencing
of the module can be further improved so that it is more visually appealing.
It
was voiced during the field trip that materials development should be made part
of the
training
programme so that the pool of available materials is large.
Hybrid Module. Acting on
feedback from the 2005 pilot, the CDC rewrote the module
in
2006. There is need to examine the new hybrid module to ensure this need for
greater
life
skills practice has been ratified in the rewriting. The module is currently being
printed
and has not been delivered to UNICEF.
It
was voiced during the field trip that an accompanying student workbook would
help to
complement
and further reinforce skills and ensure a fuller understanding of the LSBE
message.
DEFENCE
4. ISAF was first established by the UN Security Council on 20th December 2001 by Resolution 1386. ISAF is a UN-sanctioned multinational coalition force headed by NATO, with the United States as lead nation and main contributor. Malaysia was invited by Afghanistan to join ISAF in September 2010 as a non-NATO contingent chiefly because of our impeccable record in peacekeeping operations, our expertise in healthcare, and our common Islamic background. The MoU signed between the Government of Malaysia and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan agreed to the deployment of an MAF contingent to Afghanistan to participate in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan. Malaysia became the 47th contributor to ISAF and the 19th non-NATO contributing nation.
5. Since ISAF is NATO-led
and not UN-led, the cost of maintaining ISAF is borne by the contributing
nations. MALCON ISAF is working
alongside a Provincial Reconstruction Team led by New Zealand (NZ PRT). Undert his arrangement, MALCON ISAF is under the Tactical Control of
the NZ PRT Commander and responsive to the PRT Civilian Director. However, the
MALCON leader retains full command of the Malaysian project team. In this
partnership, MALCON will comply with NZ PRT in matters pertaining to Base Security
especially with regard to incidents or threats to security.
6. Since July 2010, Malaysia has sent a total of four missions to Afghanistan. Each mission comprise around 40 members and the tour of duty lasts approximately 6 months. The fourth and current mission has been deployed in April 2012. They comprise a 40-member team of troops from the Royal Corp of Medicine, the Dental Corp, members of the elite 10th Para Brigade as well as special operation forces operators and administrators.
