The Malaysian government has announced a major shake-up of the country’s education system to prepare children for an increasingly digital world.
Speaking at a town hall event at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil over the weekend, Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, said this would involve providing students with the skills that will be most relevant in the future workplace.
The changes will be brought in following Malaysia’s 14th general election, he said.
“We must prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With the mandate of the people, the government can make sure the education system can deliver the skill sets for the digital age,” Najib said, adding that this was one of his “top priorities”.
Another issue Najib raised was the “segregation” of Malaysia’s vernacular and national schools, which he said had affected the country’s unity.
Ethnic segregation in Malaysia's education system has been an issue of contention since Merdeka (Malaysia’s Independence Day) in 1957 when the country’s various races began integrating.
In the years following, race relations began to deteriorate as Pre-Merdeka Malayans began to view themselves as Malays, Chinese and Indians and establish their own vernacular schools, which many Malays now see an obstacle to national unity.
“As you can see today, the Malays are in the national schools while there are also the SRJK (C), SRJK (T) and religious schools,” Najib was quoted as saying by The Star daily.
“We have gone through structural changes and we are now studying them in a compartmentalised manner.”
However, despite these challenges, Najib said the kind of unity shown during sporting events – when Malaysians cheered for national shuttler, Datuk Lee Chong Wei – gave him hope.
“The whole country was behind him (Lee). These are among moments of unity,” Najib said.
“We need to create more moments like these.”
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