KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — Malaysian educators need to adapt education policies and practices to suit the changes and rapid development taking place worldwide, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Describing the pace at which the world was advancing in education as phenomenal, Muhyiddin (picture), who is also education minister, said the country needed to keep in tandem with this situation.
“As educators, we cannot just sit back and watch this revolution in education pass us by,” he said when opening the 29th Asean Council of Teachers Convention, here, tonight.
Stressing that education was vital for the future growth of a country, Muhyiddin said it played a crucial role and formed the basis for young people to prepare themselves for future challenges.
“We need to equip our future generations with knowledge and skills and instil in them attitudes that emphasise innovation.
“We must also provide them with the technical know-how in order to produce knowledge workers who can excel in a competitive world,” he said.
The deputy prime minister said the ministry was committed to the development of an education system which met the needs of the learners and that of the nation.
“We should engage teachers and the community at large to work together to implement the educational policies that we have conceptualised in our respective countries,” he said.
On the four-day convention starting today, Muhyiddin hoped that the theoretical knowledge and practical skills gained by the participants would enable them to further advance the educational development back home.
He believed the convention would create professional learning partnerships among participating countries that would result in numerous benefits for the stakeholders.
About 900 delegates from Asean countries comprising Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, as well as South Korea are attending the convention. — Bernama
