by SHAFIQQUL ALIFF
THE Education Ministry (MoE) will focus on seven main thrusts including making communication between the ministry and schools more efficient and transparent.
Education minister Fadhlina Sidek said this is to reduce the bureaucratic gap in the affairs of teachers and students as well as complaints, where suggestions and questions can be submitted directly through various official channels.
She said this will be provided by the Public Complaints Management System, AduBuli and Customer Service Counters.
“I will make sure that the relevant reports will be acted upon,” Fadhlina said in a press conference in Putrajaya today.
She added that the second thrust emphasises the aspect of soft skills through the formation of manners, morals and integrity.
“MoE is confident that it will create a harmonious atmosphere which will avoid negative symptoms such as sexual harassment, bullying, extremism, gangsterism and vandalism,” she added.
The third focus is on the issue of multidimensional poverty of students from the bottom 40% families, including from the aspects of malnutrition, devices and learning spaces.
“I will work closely with the relevant ministries to ensure that the issue of family poverty that has a direct impact on children’s education can be properly assisted,” she said.
As the fourth thrust, Fadhlina said the ministry is to pay attention to the issue of school dropouts as well as literacy and numeracy problems so that the education gap that exists can be bridged.
“The fifth focuses on the welfare of teachers because they are the main core of the effectiveness of education delivery.
“Therefore, I will ensure that they are given appropriate continuous professional support and focus on their welfare including the pressure they face due to the workload and being away from their spouses,” the minister said.
The sixth thrust is to focus on efforts to renovate and upgrade schools with dilapidated buildings, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
“The last thrust is to increase the capacity of digital education in schools. The ministry will work together with central agencies to increase the capacity of digital education in educational institutions.