PUTRAJAYA, Feb 10 — The Najib administration has formed a special committee which will review the current History syllabus being taught in primary and secondary schools and suggest changes if necessary.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Education Minister said today that 14 experts — ranging from lecturers to representatives from various stakeholders have been chosen to be in the committee.
According to Muhyiddin (picture), the committee was formed to ensure that the history of Malaysia’s formation was presented to students in a “truthful” and accurate manner.
The committee will advise the government on ways to better the existing curriculum as well as improve the subject as a whole.
“The purpose is so that the study of the subject can generate citizens who really understand history, are patriotic and who have strong personal beliefs,” he said in a speech this morning.
Muhyiddin told reporter later that the committee's scope was to review the subject and assured that no major revamps would be made.
Instead he said that the committee would be focusing more on “new developments” to the syllabus.
“We are doing this because we want to make History a compulsory subject that must be passed during examinations,” said the DPM.
There have been many complaints that subjects being taught in schools did not give an accurate account of the country’s history.
There was a huge outcry recently over contents of a Malay novel “Interlok” which is currently being used as a Form Five literature textbook.
Indian politicians from both Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Nasional (BN) have argued that its contents were derogatory to the Indian community.
But others have defended it as a novel depicting the theme of integration of the country’s three major races in the period from 1900 to independence in 1957.
The government has now agreed to amend the parts regarded as sensitive by the Indian community.
The novel was written by national laureate Datuk Abdullah Hussain. - Malaysian Insider
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.