Ninth Malaysia Plan
Rancangan Malaysia Ke-9

(Taken & Adapted from The Star Online, Sunday 23, 2006)

The 9MP challenge

ONE OF the biggest challenges for Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein was the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP). He had to look at the short- and long term measures to be adopted by his ministry that would elevate the education system to one befitting that of developed nations. With an allocation of RM23bil, how does one juxtapose the pursuit of world-class standards with efforts to provide schools with water or electricity? Below are excerpts from an interview with the minister. 

What are your plans under the 9MP? 
It is impossible for us to do everything at once because of the numbers and geography. We are not Singapore, with 300 or 400 schools. We have 10,000 schools. We are not Brunei, where our 320,000 teachers would have made up its entire population. 
Since Independence, we have been looking at trying to level the educational playing field by reducing the gap between the haves and have-nots, the know and know nots. I think we have done very well, not withstanding the diversity that exists between the different streams. We have Chinese schools, Indian schools, private, international, religious, and national schools. Trying to level the playing field is not an easy task. 
What I am trying to do under the 9MP is to run the last mile. In other words, schools that do not have electricity and water must be provided with the basic amenities. 
Those schools in the remote areas which do not have teachers – we must convince the teachers to go there. Schools which require maintenance or upgrading in remote areas, especially in Sabah and Sarawak – we must sort this out within the next five years. 

Of course, there is a downside to this. When we give priority to schools that are lacking, the currently existing centres of excellence either have to wait for the rest to catch up or be reduced to mediocrity. 

So, within the next five years, I also want to look at developing clusters of schools that can be lifted up to a level where we can give them a bit more autonomy and flexibility in the curriculum, to make education more fun. 

These clusters will be identified and we will implement them during these five years so that by 2010, when we level the playing field, we will also have examples of centres of educational excellence which, if things work out, we can extend nationwide for the remaining 10 years to 2020. 

The key to that is leadership. That is why teacher training is very important to me because I want to plant and put the best head teachers in these schools. Without them, it is impossible to create that environment of fun and learning, where the focus is not on examinations. I cannot do this across the board with 10,000 schools. I can only do that with cluster schools. 

To form these clusters we are looking at premier schools, centenary schools, residential, mission, Chinese, Indian, religious and even international schools. I realise that the world is becoming borderless and we are at a disadvantage if we do not leverage on what we already have and what the world requires. I am even looking at international schools and private schools. 

I have the political will and now I know the ceiling under 9MP, I know what I am going to do. 

Do you have a ballpark figure of how many of these head teachers the ministry wants to produce for these cluster schools?  
Will the first batch include the 121 super principals you just announced? I would like to have as many as possible but it depends on the number of leaders I can produce. Institut Aminuddin Baki (IAB) is going to look at inservice training, as we want teachers who have the commitment, passion and the ability. 

Then we have to hone their skills, their abilities to lead, and their confidence to mould the schools into what they want. 

Secondly, we have to place the head teachers in schools in which they will spend more time. If you wait till they become principals, they may only have one year left. 
It is not as easy as it looks but it can be done with the support of both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, who are both former education ministers; they know exactly what I am talking about. 

During Pak Lah's recent visit here (to the Education Ministry, on April 7) with Datuk Seri Najib (Tun Razak), they made it very clear they are very serious about the 9MP. They had us on our toes and I share their vision. It is a lot easier when we have that political will from the top, so it is doable. 

For example, when you talk about fun, how many parents are willing to let their children have fun? How many parents would let their children take part in co-curricular activities instead of going for tuition? How many would allow them to focus on art or music unless we make it a requirement? But we have reached the stage where we can look at these clusters. Singapore has reached that part. We do not need to reinvent the wheel and my relationship with my Singapore counterpart is very good. They are realistic and they can do it with the numbers they have but I do not think we have to wait until all of our 10,000 schools have water, electricity, computers, labs and teachers. 

As for the super principals, I have to look at the requirements and the pre-conditions. But it is part and parcel of the movement, if you are talking about how to ensure the teaching profession is respected. 

Can schools volunteer to be in these clusters?
I am still thinking about it. The ideas must come from them. If I give them the autonomy, they must have the confidence to suggest what they want for their schools. 

But with that comes a very heavy responsibility to deliver. In other words, I am open to all ideas when it comes to these clusters. It is open in all aspects. If you are talking about having more emphasis on sports, for example, which sports? Are you a rugby or cricket school? Or cheerleading? This is where the challenge comes in as the head teachers have to decide what is best for them. I want to hear from them because if you standardise it or have a formula, then there is no autonomy. Then they will push it back to the ministry. 

Now I am giving them the autonomy but they have to prove that they deserve it first. So, I am going to handpick the best. 

Secondly, I have to put in place a mechanism to assess them continuously. So the School Inspectorate, the financial audit department, the schools division, the officers at the district and state level must have a way to analyse and find out if the teachers are delivering. 

Also, the needs of students in a remote school would be totally different from those of an urban school. 

Once the clusters, the leaders, head teachers and the mechanism to monitor them have been identified, there is no need to worry. 

It is the idea of making the majority of our schools on par that has me worried because we only have 15 years. We have 15 years to look at pre-school, special education, and to ensure that all schools in remote areas get the basic necessities. We have to look at holistic development. 

In other words, co-curriculum and sports are not the luxury of only the cluster schools – they have to be provided in all schools. I will not compromise on this. I will go the extra mile to ensure the four factors – national unity, safety, discipline and hygiene, health and cleanliness are provided. I think our ministry is quite poised with the allocation we have. It is just a question of implementation.