Highlights of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025

Following are the highlights of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025:

The Education Ministry:

* aspires to ensure universal access and full enrolment of all children from preschool through to upper secondary school level by 2020.

* aspires for Malaysia to be in the top third of countries in terms of performance in international assessments, as measured by outcomes in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) within 15 years.

* aspires to halve the current urban-rural, socio-economic and gender achievement gaps by 2020.

* aspires to create a system whereby students have opportunities to build shared experiences and aspirations that form the foundation for unity.

* aspires to further maximise student outcomes within the current budget levels.

* has identified 11 shifts that will need to occur to deliver the step change in outcomes envisioned by all Malaysians, which each shift to address at least one of the five system outcomes of access, quality, equity, unity and efficiency.

* is to increase compulsory schooling from six to 11 years, starting at the age of six years supported by targeted retention programmes.

* is to launch the Secondary School Standard Curriculum or Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM) and revised Primary School Standard Curriculum or Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) in 2017 to embed a balanced set of knowledge and skills such as creative thinking, innovation, problem-solving and leadership.

* is to lay out clear learning standards so that students and parents understand the progress expected within each year of schooling.

* is to revamp the national examination and school-based assessments in stages, whereby by 2016 at least 40 per cent of questions in Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and 50 per cent in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) are higher-order thinking questions.

* by the end of 2013, is to build academic and career counselling services into the secondary school timetable to help students make better informed choices about the various education pathways on offer.

* by 2025, is to ensure that Orang Asli students, other minority groups and students with physical or learning disabilities go to schools with the facilities and equipment needed to create a conductive and supportive learning environment.

* from 2016, is to ensure that English is made a compulsory subject to pass for SPM.

* by 2025, is to ensure that every student is encouraged to learn an additional language in the move to equip them well for entering the workforce in a globalising world.

* will focus on building up its cadre of Chinese, Tamil and Arabic language teachers to ensure that the supply of teachers matches student demand, besides expanding the provision of other important languages such as Spanish, French and Japanese.

* from 2013, is to ensure that the entry bar for teachers is raised to be amongst the top 30 per cent of graduates.

* from 2013, is to ensure that teachers enjoy a reduced administrative burden so that they can focus the majority of their time on their core function of teaching, with some administrative functions moved to a centralised service centre or to a dedicated administrative teacher at the school level.

* by 2015, is to ensure that all schools meet basic infrastructure requirements, starting with Sabah and Sarawak.

* is to ensure that the Trust School model is expanded to 500 schools by 2025, including by alumni groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as potential sponsors.

* will publish an annual report on the progress made against each initiative outlined in the blueprint.

* will undertake a stock-take at key milestones in the blueprint journey in 2015, 2020 and 2025.