Maszlee proposes education ministry form council to save ‘lost generation’

 

Maszlee Malik says education minister must be willing to work across party lines, ideologies and even expertise.

PETALING JAYA: The education ministry should establish a national education action council to address the alarming post-pandemic education problems, former education minister Maszlee Malik has proposed.

Maszlee called for the council after criticising the ministry for not dealing with education issues effectively during the pandemic and urged his successor to interact actively with relevant stakeholders to solve the problems.

“I think a thorough resolution can be found if the minister is willing to cooperate across party lines, ideologies and even expertise, because until today, although many MPs and the people have spoken, there is still no answer from the ministry.

Calling the students a “lost generation”, Maszlee said that at least one million students, especially those in pre-school, Year One and Year Two would be affected and excluded from progress due to school closures.

“The absence of the normal learning and teaching process for almost a year has hampered the educational process. These students are still struggling to acquire basic skills such as reading, writing and speaking,” he said in a statement today.

Maszlee added that the council should involve all stakeholders, including representatives from the National Union of the Teaching Profession, NGOs, government and opposition MPs, aside from the ministry itself. - FMT