KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — The government recognises that education plays a significant role in developing the skills that generate an entrepreneurial mindset and leadership, says Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said calls had been made for institutions of higher learning in the country to come up with strategic efforts to nurture entrepreneurial and innovative minds of the young generation.

He stressed that this was essential to leapfrog the country’s economic transformation from a middle-income to a high-income nation by 2020.

“The government also believes that quality education remains a key priority area for continuous improvement.

“In addressing entrepreneurship education, we have to realise that we also have to face multiple challenges that may vary from country to country in intensity,” he said in his keynote address at the opening of the 3rd Unesco-APEID (Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development) Meeting on Entrepreneurship Education, here, today.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said one of the key issues was content and pedagogy — what to reach and how to teach them.

“In this regard, it is important for us to recognise that learning institutions such as schools, colleges and universities have different priorities, cultures, norms, knowledge and research emphasis and traditions.”

Another consideration, he said, was whether the country’s educators were properly trained to disseminate understanding of different ways and methods to develop and support an entrepreneurial mindset.

“This will require effective cooperation between the education sector and  related industries. The debate on whether it is the role of universities to train for industries, or related industries must themselves train for their specific needs, continues,” he said.

Muhyiddin said both sectors must cooperate to equip young people with the right entrepreneurial skills and attributes for them to contribute effectively to the world of work and business.

The deputy prime minister said if all these issues could be addressed adequately, being an entrepreneur would seem to be a good career of choice.

“Therefore, the formal education sector will have to review how it prepares the young to accept the challenges of stepping out to become an entrepreneur instead of relying solely on the traditional employment option.”

Muhyiddin said studies had confirmed that Entrepreneurship Education could help promote entrepreneurial and innovative culture by changing mindsets and providing the necessary skills to students.

“However, the benefits of Entrepreneurship Education are not limited to boosting start-ups, innovative ventures and new jobs, but it can also influence a young individual’s motivation to strive for something that might otherwise seem impossible,” he added.

The meeting themed, ‘Entrepreneurship Education for Global Prosperity’, is  attended by 120 participants including policy makers, educators, entrepreneurs, professionals and youths from 21 countries, including Malaysia.

Thirteen papers on challenges and the way forward in terms of promoting entrepreneurship, especially among the young, will be presented at the three-day event.

Present at the opening today were director of the Bangkok-based Unesco Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, Gwang-Jo Kim, Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan and the Education Ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Madinah Mohamad.

Later, Muhyiddin launched the Unesco Entrepreneurship Education Network (EE-Net). — Bernama