MIRI, 24 April 2009: The Education Ministry plans to introduce the skills stream at all national secondary schools under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).
Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said that if implemented, it would equip the students with the Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM)-level skills to make it easy for them to obtain employment even though they did not do well in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.
Speaking to reporters after launching the Vocational and Skills Education Exposition and Seminar organised by the ministry’s Technical and Vocational Education Division here today, he said an in depth study was being carried out into the proposal.
He said 22 vocational subjects had been introduced at several national secondary schools and the study would also involve the additional requirements to allow the students to obtain SKM.
“When they leave, they will not only have SPM but SKM as well,” he said.
Wee said the country’s financial capacity needed to be taken into account in implementing the proposal in view of the skills stream involving additional facilities for training in school such as workshops, equipment supplies and so on.
In his speech earlier, he said the plan to introduce the skills stream was among the strategies to strengthen technical and vocational education in Malaysia.
Others were raising the enrolment in vocational and skills stream at technical secondary schools, strengthening the technical and vocational education curriculum and enhancing ties with the industry, professional bodies and higher education institutes both local and overseas.
He said the ministry was also in the process of restructuring 60 technical secondary schools to turn them into vocational secondary schools which would focus on the vocational and skills stream by 2011.
He said the number of Form Four students undergoing the skills training programme at 70 technical secondary schools nationwide rose to 3,200 this year from only 1,400 previously. — Bernama
