Preliminary-Blueprint-Eng

As illustrated in this chapter, Malaysia
has performed well on access with nearuniversal
enrolment at the primary
level and relatively high levels of
participation at the secondary level.
On quality, there appears to be a
mismatch between results of national
examinations and international
assessments which could be due to
differences in standards, or in a
misalignment in what assessments test
for—content knowledge versus the
ability to apply that knowledge. In terms
of educational equity, socio-economic
status is still the most significant driver
of variance in student outcomes, despite
the government’s concerted investment
in financial support for students from
low-income families. The best available
data on unity suggests that student and
teacher diversity in SKs is decreasing,
although the level of interaction across
ethnicities remains robust. Finally, high
Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025
Chapter 3 Current Performance
levels of spending have not yielded as
much impact as desired, which calls for
a renewed commitment to ensuring that
the nation’s funds are efficiently used.
Looking ahead, it is important to
understand what drives these outcomes
so that the Malaysian education system
can scale up its successes, and reduce, if
not eliminate, its areas of shortfall. Over
the course of the development of the
Blueprint, it is clear that the National
Education Philosophy and many of
the system’s existing policies remain
as relevant today as when they were
first designed. The challenge has been
in the implementation of these policies.
Accordingly, the next four chapters delve
deeper into the more important factors
that drive or inhibit student learning
and, most importantly, develop solutions
to address these concerns.
3-28