KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) -- The government made tremendous efforts in 2011 to ensure students in pre-school, primary and secondary levels would graduate with quality outcomes.
According to the 2011 GTP Annual Report issued by the Prime Minister's Department, through improving student outcome and addressing various challenges in schools, Malaysia took the first step towards providing quality educational opportunities for all regardless of race, religion or income levels.
The Education National Key Result Area (NKRA) outlined the mission to address the remaining gaps, while raising the bar to support Malaysia's aspiration of becoming a developed nation with the appropriate human capital.It also aimed to safeguard the nation's future by developing the minds, talents and capabilities of the next generation in a more advantageous manner.
Early education was given emphasise so that more children could enroll in pre-school to ensure a solid foundation towards nation building.
According to the report, the Education Ministry recorded a 77.23 per cent enrolment rate as at Dec 2011 and collaborated with KEMAS, State Education Department and the private sector to rollout 3,089 pre-school classes nationwide.
As a result, 732,902 children in the four and five year age groups were able to enroll in pre-schools.
In improving the quality of pre-schools nationwide, the government standardised financial support for pupils at government pre-schools and trained private pre-school teachers to improve their teaching methods.
The Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS) programme which was introduced to achieve 100 per cent literacy and numeracy for Malaysian schoolchildren (with no learning difficulties) by the time they reached Primary Three, also showed significant results last year.
According to the report, Primary Two pupils in their sixth consecutive LINUS screening achieved 97.5 per cent literacy rate and 98.6 per cent numeracy rate, which exceeded the 2011 target of 95 per cent each.
The programme also created an awareness of the importance of acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills so that no child is left behind.
Meanwhile, the report also stated that 32 schools (12 primary and 20 secondary schools) were awarded the High Performing School (HPS) status last year bringing the total to 52 HPS recognised as the country's top schools.
These schools were provided with grants of RM700,000 each to ensure they maintained their excellent performance and continued to raise the bar for other schools.
Last year also saw 5.23 per cent or 403 head teachers receiving the New Deals award, exceeding the ministry's target of awarding the top 3 per cent of primary school heads.
The New Deals initiative was designed in 2010 to improve overall student outcomes by providing incentives to head teachers and principals to innovate, improve upon and deliver high performance for their schools.
Under this initiative, primary and secondary schools nationwide were also ranked for the second time according to their academic excellence and holistic achievements.
The schools were ranked in seven bands from the highest performing (Band One) to the lowest performing (Band Seven).
According to the report, the School Improvement Programme (SIP) which was introduced to transform every school, especially the under performing ones, into excellent educational institutions showed a positive outcome.
In its first year of implementation, SIP achieved a reduction in the number of Band Six and Band Seven schools by 40.25 per cent, while the number of schools in Band One and Two increased by 21.86 per cent.
This year, the Education NKRA has raised the target even higher and also shifted its focus to improving quality as well as access to the overall education system.
A series of new initiatives would be introduced to complement the existing ones, including the rating of teacher training institutes, a comprehensive review of the education system, special LINUS screening sessions and the introduction of a weighted index in ranking for schools with different challenges.
The report said, the Education Ministry aimed to achieve 100 per cent basic literacy and numeracy skills among Primary Three students in 2012.
-- BERNAMA
According to the 2011 GTP Annual Report issued by the Prime Minister's Department, through improving student outcome and addressing various challenges in schools, Malaysia took the first step towards providing quality educational opportunities for all regardless of race, religion or income levels.
The Education National Key Result Area (NKRA) outlined the mission to address the remaining gaps, while raising the bar to support Malaysia's aspiration of becoming a developed nation with the appropriate human capital.It also aimed to safeguard the nation's future by developing the minds, talents and capabilities of the next generation in a more advantageous manner.
Early education was given emphasise so that more children could enroll in pre-school to ensure a solid foundation towards nation building.
According to the report, the Education Ministry recorded a 77.23 per cent enrolment rate as at Dec 2011 and collaborated with KEMAS, State Education Department and the private sector to rollout 3,089 pre-school classes nationwide.
As a result, 732,902 children in the four and five year age groups were able to enroll in pre-schools.
In improving the quality of pre-schools nationwide, the government standardised financial support for pupils at government pre-schools and trained private pre-school teachers to improve their teaching methods.
The Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS) programme which was introduced to achieve 100 per cent literacy and numeracy for Malaysian schoolchildren (with no learning difficulties) by the time they reached Primary Three, also showed significant results last year.
According to the report, Primary Two pupils in their sixth consecutive LINUS screening achieved 97.5 per cent literacy rate and 98.6 per cent numeracy rate, which exceeded the 2011 target of 95 per cent each.
The programme also created an awareness of the importance of acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills so that no child is left behind.
Meanwhile, the report also stated that 32 schools (12 primary and 20 secondary schools) were awarded the High Performing School (HPS) status last year bringing the total to 52 HPS recognised as the country's top schools.
These schools were provided with grants of RM700,000 each to ensure they maintained their excellent performance and continued to raise the bar for other schools.
Last year also saw 5.23 per cent or 403 head teachers receiving the New Deals award, exceeding the ministry's target of awarding the top 3 per cent of primary school heads.
The New Deals initiative was designed in 2010 to improve overall student outcomes by providing incentives to head teachers and principals to innovate, improve upon and deliver high performance for their schools.
Under this initiative, primary and secondary schools nationwide were also ranked for the second time according to their academic excellence and holistic achievements.
The schools were ranked in seven bands from the highest performing (Band One) to the lowest performing (Band Seven).
According to the report, the School Improvement Programme (SIP) which was introduced to transform every school, especially the under performing ones, into excellent educational institutions showed a positive outcome.
In its first year of implementation, SIP achieved a reduction in the number of Band Six and Band Seven schools by 40.25 per cent, while the number of schools in Band One and Two increased by 21.86 per cent.
This year, the Education NKRA has raised the target even higher and also shifted its focus to improving quality as well as access to the overall education system.
A series of new initiatives would be introduced to complement the existing ones, including the rating of teacher training institutes, a comprehensive review of the education system, special LINUS screening sessions and the introduction of a weighted index in ranking for schools with different challenges.
The report said, the Education Ministry aimed to achieve 100 per cent basic literacy and numeracy skills among Primary Three students in 2012.
-- BERNAMA
