Malaysia's Education Blueprint: an inspiration to nations

Bernama reports that several countries have expressed interest in emulating the Malaysian Education Blueprint in their education system

According to Education Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad, these nations have expressed their interest through their delegates and representatives attending the International Conference On Blue Ocean Strategy (ICBOS) that took place in Putrajaya from August 16 to August 18.

Fiji and Yemen are among the countries curios to learn about the depth and the content of the Malaysian blueprint for the purpose of emulating it.

Dr Madinah spoke about the levels of cooperation needed to carry out such a plan. All levels within the ministry of education including the minister, directors, administrators and even parents of students are to be involved to ensure the success of the blueprint.

Recently, it was reported that the Malaysian Education Blueprint has achieved three of its main targets in the first phase of implementation. The Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid says the achievements were in the areas of mastery of literacy and numeracy (Linus) programmes by students; increase in pre-school and primary school enrolment; and, bridging the urban and rural gap.

According to the minister, literacy in Bahasa Malaysia is as high as 99% while literacy in the English language rose to 94% last year compared to 63.3% in 2013 when the blueprint was initiated.

Enrolment, on the other hand, has seen an increase of 2.8%; total enrolment in 2013 was 81.7% while last year's enrolment was reported at 84.5% for pre-school. Primary school has seen an increase of 3.6% increase as the total enrolment in 2015 was 98% compared to 94.4% in 2013.

The gap between urban and rural areas have been reduced by 31.6% surpassing the target set in the blueprint which was at 25% based on the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) achievements.

About ICBOS:

International Conference on Blue Ocean Strategy at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) in Putrajaya is conducted with the theme of transforming the nation through creativity and innovation.

Approximately, 3,000 participants from around the world have attended the event, including national leaders from Commonwealth member countries, ASEAN nations, and members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The three-day congress is a platform for the participants to share knowledge and ideas on how to inject creativity and innovation in the formulation and implementation of national policies and initiatives.