‘We need scientists, engineers, researchers’

Meanwhile in Paris, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told the United Nations about Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 and its aims.

KUALA LANGAT: Malaysia is still short of researchers, scientists and engineers with the ratio of scientists at 58.2 for every 10,000 workers to achieve the developed-nation status by 2020.

Secretary-general of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, Dr Rosli Mohamed said the ratio was low compared to that of developed countries.

In this regard, he said the ministry was carrying out various programmes including continuous talent development, besides seeking the best platform to commercialise the existing research outcomes.

Rosli said the government targeted the scientists:workers ratio to be at 70:10,000 by 2020 and the ministry had been proactive in trying to meet the target by unearthing new talents through its own programmes or those of its agencies.

“Malaysia is seen as having good potential of achieving the target if the commercialisation of the research inventions could be boosted to reach international standards,” he told reporters after opening the National Space Research Symposium 2013, at the National Space Centre, here, yesterday.

He said this would require, among others, close cooperation from various government agencies and the private sector, as well as reviewing and improving of the existin research ecosystem. Meanwhile in PARIS, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told the United Nations that Malaysia is gearing towards an education system that would prepare its young citizens to meet teh global demands of the 21st century.

He said the country’s goals and aspirations for the education system were envisaged through the formulation of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, which was launched in September 2013.  In a national statement made at the 37th Session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) General Conference at its headquarters, here, Muhyiddin said the blueprint focused on five key pillars – accessibility, quality, equity, unity and efficiency.

“Quality, however, is the central principle cutting across all dimensions in pursuit of a system that is dynamically adept to the ever changing developmental landscape, locally and globally. ”As an enabler of greater social mobility, competitive growth and wealth creation, Malaysia believes that quality education provides the best returns on investments with respect to the standards of its human capital,” he said.

Accessible education

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said Malaysia was also committed to providing accessible and equitable education to its people towards achieving Education for All (EFA).

“For example, we have worked towards providing access to education for students undergoing treatment through our ‘Schools in Hospitals’ programme which was established in 2011.

“A total of eight ‘Schools in Hospitals’ have been operationalised, providing an opportunity for students to keep up with their peers in mainstream schools.

“In addition, marginalised groups in remote areas are assisted through  comprehensive model schools to meet the educational needs of indigenous children,” he said.

He also noted that Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) is one of the country’s utmost priorities and hoped that through the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre (ISTIC), the partnership in promoting South-South Cooperation and supporting Unesco’s science programmes would be continuously reinforced.

Muhyiddin said ISTIC had been facilitating the integration of a developmental approach into the national STI policies which focused on capacity building, providing a platform for policy advice, exchange of experiences and best practices.

“To date, a total of 1,585 personnel from 82 developing countries have directly benefited from the 33 capacity-building programmes that ISTIC has conducted over the past five years,” he said.

Malaysia’s commitment to Unesco and its determination to support developing nations in reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 was demonstrated through the signing of the Malaysia Unesco Cooperation Programme (MUCP) in 2011, followed by the establishment of the Malaysian Funds-in-Trust in April 2013.

Through this cooperation, Muhyiddin said, Malaysia could contribute towards the benefit of the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS) as well as for Africa, among others.

-Bernama