Merit, not seniority counts: Dept
Published on: Saturday, November 01, 2014
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Rini
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Zahlifah IsmailKOTA KINABALU: The selection process of a school principal is no longer based on years of service, but is now based on merit and leadership skills to encourage better overall school achievement, said Education Director-General Datuk Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof."Only a good leader will be able to steer people towards a positive goal."
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Dr Khair's speech was read by Education Deputy Director-General Dato' Misrah Ibrahim at the 'Program Bersama Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia: Penerangan Dasar-Dasar Utama KPM', here, Thursday."This is of course vital, apart from the obvious support systems and school infrastructures to further enhance a school's capabilities to go forward and meet government expectations."As a result, individuals who are knowledgeable, innovative, ethical, skilful, and basically, those with a first class mindset can be shaped."This is one of the Education Ministry's plans under the Malaysian Education Development Plan. Among programmes under this includes the District Transformation Programme, and so far, has involved Kedah and Sabah. "The achievement gap between rural and urban areas was also improved in these two states, by far, exceeding other states in the entire country on average."
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In response to this excellent outcome, he is confident over its effectiveness and therefore, intends to apply the District Transformation Programme in other states in Malaysia. "The transformation process involves getting out of one's comfort zone. This means breaking away from normal routines and ways of thinking. Moving towards an improved version of doing things should be on our priority list."He said in order to get people's attention to support the Education Ministry's ideas on education, teachers and principals should spread the news.He also stressed the importance of explaining these ideas in a way that can create an impact."I appreciate your commitment in ensuring students achieve excellent results."However, Dr Khair reminded that students' achievement can also reach a desired standard with the involvement of their parents, and the community as a whole, including those in the corporate sector.In view of this, he said that a good relationship between the school management, the Parents and Teachers Association, non-government organisations and society in general is needed. As for improving the State's economic level so that it reaches the standard of other states, education plays an important role because for this to take place, high skilled individuals are compulsory."In fact, the demand for high skilled individuals is expected to increase."To meet these demands, a comprehensive plan taking into consideration the different needs, talents and abilities has been prepared.Access to vocational school or training is open to both disabled and normal students.Meanwhile, he also mentioned that the Education Ministry has set up a system (Perwakilan Kuasa) to appoint state Education Departments to manage areas related to progress or development.This year, it has started off with Sabah and Sarawak with a value contract of up to RM5 million."Hopefully, this will expedite the development process to accommodate students' needs."Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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