Zahid proposes Malay Education Mobility Index

 The proposed index will measure whether education improves a person’s social and economic mobility.

Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi speaking at the 2026 Malay Education Convention at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur today. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has proposed a Malay Education Mobility Index to measure whether education improves the socioeconomic standing of the Malay community.

Zahid said the index should track a person’s socioeconomic background, learning achievements, education pathways, employment, skills matching and income growth.

He said education should be assessed not only by qualifications obtained, but also by the knowledge and skills acquired and their impact on social mobility.

“In human capital theory, education is an investment. But that investment only truly becomes capital when it produces tangible capabilities and mobility,” he said in his speech at the 2026 Malay Education Convention at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

“Our measurement must move from schooling to learning, and from learning to mobility – not just how long someone spends in the system, but what they acquire, where that knowledge takes them and the extent to which education improves their social and economic mobility.”

Zahid, who is also Umno president, said the party’s education and research secretariat, together with academic institutions, should develop an initial framework for the index.

He said the Malay education agenda should be driven by data, outcomes and evidence, rather than the number of programmes, allocations or participants.

For decades, he said, the focus had been on expanding access through schools and institutions such as Majlis Amanah Rakyat, Mara Junior Science Colleges and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), as well as scholarships and access to higher education.

“However, the challenge is no longer simply ensuring Malays have access to education, but ensuring they emerge with valuable knowledge and skills that can improve their socioeconomic standing and that of their families,” he said.

He said education must also translate into economic value, noting that 35.2% of tertiary-educated workers in the second quarter of this year were employed in jobs that did not match their skill levels.

Zahid said although the 13th Malaysia Plan aims to increase the proportion of graduates in jobs matching their qualifications from 69.4% to 70.1% by 2030, institutions with a major Bumiputera development mandate should set a higher target of at least 80%.

Earlier, the convention approved seven resolutions to be brought to the Cabinet, including proposals for a national education mobility database and index, targeted early education interventions and greater involvement by UiTM alumni. - FMT