By Umie Syazwanie Mohd & Nazrinzulaiqa Hasbi
KUCHING: The federal government’s initiative to improve the country’s education system and address the job market was well received by educationists here.
They resounded in agreement that the government should focus on problems related to education, namely the job market, rural school facilities, students’ skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) on top of other prospects.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday (Sept 27) said the education system in the country needs to have the capacity to produce quality, as well as highly-skilled human capital, to meet the needs of the industry.
Apart from that, Ismail Sabri said the focus should be on improving the country’s education system, as well as addressing the issue of mismatch in the job market.
New Sarawak Tribune yesterday (Sept 28) talked to numerous educationists for their thoughts regarding the issue.
Dr Roslan Ali, Lecturer, Faculty of Language and Communication, Unimas
The need to improve the country’s post-pandemic education system should be implemented immediately so that the government’s desire to produce quality and highly-skilled human capital is not stunted. The government must also empower and improve digital education. The rural areas should also be upgraded so that people there can enjoy technology as the citizens living in the city.
Dr Zuraini Seruji, Lecturer, Faculty of Language and Communication, Unimas
Certainly, experts will work together to provide views and knowledge related to their respective fields in designing a more sustainable and relevant education system today. This expertise will later be the framework and subsequently the implementation process at the school and university levels will be the field of change in the national education system towards a more robust system.
Dayang Azlina Awang Alli, Deputy Chief Integration Special Programme, SMK Asajaya
To realise this effort, there is a need for the comprehensive commitment of the Ministry of Education (MOE) to succeed and expand STEM education starting in national schools and expanding with TVET education at the secondary level and institutes of higher learning. Next, the MOE needs to improve governance for school support and strengthen and expand research for student-driven innovation.
Kamarul Julai, Secondary School, SMK Ulu Balingian
My view on this matter is that the government needs to examine every aspect that influences and is closely related to STEM at the grassroots level. In addition to the role of government, the roles of players or social agencies at all levels of society in education also need to be strengthened. Infrastructure facilities, especially in rural and inland areas need to be upgraded so that the gap with urban areas is not too significant.
Hanisa Salim, Secondary School, SMK Ulu Balingian
The government needs to provide equal facilities to schools whether in urban or rural areas, especially in terms of internet network because now the education system is more geared towards science and technology. In order to produce more skilled students, complete facilities according to the requirements of the syllabus must be provided.
