Articles

Education Blueprint Promises Better Equity In Education

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Feb 06, 2013

On 30th January this year, the cabinet gave approval for the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025. All that remains before its implementation next year is approval from the Counsel of Rulers.The Blueprint promises eventual equity in education, in terms of access to education and student outcomes, amongst others. The current trend in Malaysia is that urban schools do better than rural ones, and there are significant variations in performance amongst states as well.For example, in 2011, there was an almost 20% point difference in the UPSR grade point average between higher performing states, such as Johor, and lowest performing states, such as Sabah.There is also a gender gap – girls consistently outperform boys, and as boys are more likely to drop out of school than girls, the trend is an increasingly larger number of girls than boys in any given cohort from Year 1 to Form 5.The Education Blueprint’s first shift is to provide equal access to international-standard education. The plan is to increase the years of compulsory schooling from the current 6 years to 11 years, starting from the age of 6+. The goal is to have 100% of students leaving school with SPM or an equivalent vocational qualification.According to Blueprint’s preliminary report, Students from indigenous and other minority groups, and students with physical or learning disabilities will receive more support in order to level the playing field.The report, however, does not go into great detail of how this equity is going to be achieved, focusing rather more on raising the standards of education than easing access to it. The government’s exact plans in achieving these goals remain to be seen, as well has how smoothly these transitions can take place.Don’t forget to LIKE us on Facebook and receive updates and consultation on all matters related to Private and International schools in Malaysia.