TEACHERS’ workload has been reduced by 50% under the Pakatan Harapan administration, allowing them to focus more on students.

High-speed internet of between 30 Mbps and 100 Mbps has been installed at 10,208 schools, while 40,450 classes have used Google Classroom, which allows educators to streamline assignments and paperwork.

These are among the measures taken this year to improve the quality of teaching and learning, said the Education Ministry in its report card released today by Dr Maszlee Malik.

“Reforming the education system is not just words in a book or a document blueprint,” the minister said in the report.

“What is more important is to engage teachers, who are the true drivers of reform. I believe that only by paying attention to the needs of teachers can reform be effectively driven.”

To enhance teacher performance, the ministry did away with manual attendance sheets, while health and canteen checks are performed by other school staff, said the report.

In addition, 15,565 educators given “hardship postings” away from their spouses and children have been reunited with their families.

“A teacher development document is being prepared to improve teachers’ professionalism, while a new standard operating procedure for teacher safety and security was introduced,” said the report.

To promote the learning of science and technology, the ministry, in collaboration with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, has established 100 “digital maker hubs” in as many schools.

The report detailed achievements in the government’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and courses. Among them are:

* Of 61,510 TVET graduates, 96.5%, or 54,798 grads, have secured jobs, while 547 courses have obtained key professional industrial qualifications, such as MQA and ETAC;

* There have been 16,625 collaborations between training centres and industries, which are crucial for students to land jobs; and,

* Dual programmes, where participants gain apprenticeship at selected sponsor companies while studying, have seen 2,396 TVET students enrolled.

The report summarised the highest accolades received by public universities and schools, such as the recently released Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) and QS varsity rankings.

Malaysian students improved their Pisa scores for reading (415), mathematics (440) and science (438) compared with 2012.

In the QS Asia University Ranking, Universiti Malaya placed 13th, Universiti Putra Malaysia (33), Universiti Sains Malaysia (37), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (39) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (40). – December 13, 2019.