KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Acting Education Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today he will not make any decisions concerning the Education Ministry before looking deep into the problems plaguing the ministry.
He said he has not done anything yet to reform the ministry, and when asked what his priorities are he said he will have to study the many problems affecting the education system first.
“I have to study the problems first before I make any decisions.
“There are many problems in the education ministry, so I have to know why the problems take place and find a solution for them,” he was quoted saying in Malaysiakini.
Without elaborating, Dr Mahathir said he has plans to split the ministry into two: for education and higher education.
He also said Putrajaya will study proposals to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) which is the equivalent of SPM of STPM for Chinese vernacular schools and is conducted in Chinese language.
“We will study it lah,” he said briefly.
Dr Mahathir assumed the education portfolio after former minister Maszlee Malik announced his resignation earlier in the month. He was previously the education minister from 1974 to 1977.
