KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said bigger reforms on education were on the way to make national schools great again, subsequently providing quality workforce in ensuring sustainability of the national economy.

The prime minister said a special task force had been formed to review in entirety the national education policies, from preschool to tertiary education with the findings due for completion next month.

“The reforms, among others, will touch on several key areas including English language, quality of teachers and the employability of graduates,” he said in his keynote address at Invest Malaysia 2019, here, today.

“The government also aims to produce human capital that is e-Ready and e-Fit,” he added.

The vision, he said, was to produce quality, future-proof and values-driven graduates through three main outcomes, which were the emphasis on values in education, increasing quality across the system, and more autonomy and accountability.

“In the last 10 months, key steps have been taken towards these ends. 

“They include reforming the curriculum where the national civic and religious education syllabi are currently under review to ensure values are practised and inculcated. In other words, let’s make national schools great again,” he said.

Towards the vision, Dr Mahathir noted that, among others, the government had abolished examinations for Standard One to Three to make way for more holistic development of each student.

Apart from that, he said, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates would be increased by making it more accessible, experiential and meaningful.

“So is the development of a single Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system to ensure standardisation and industry-driven,” he said. — Bernama