63.
1998 saw a period of consolidation in implementing the education agenda of the country. There was a focus on reforms for modernization, democratization, privatization and liberalization. Despite the economic downturn, the Ministry of Education introduced policies and measures to prop up and liberalize the education sector. Significant developments and events took place in public and private education alike.
New strides in public education which were phenomenal included the move to accord all school children 11 years of minimum public education. Yet another major change was the introduction of the ‘open certification’ system for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian School Certificate) examination. All pre‐university students are now required to sit for an English test called the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) from 1999.
In private education, the first branch campus of a foreign university, the Monash University Sunway Campus was set up in Kuala Lumpur, to be followed by Curtin University in Sarawak and the University of Nottingham in Semenyih. Private colleges which run twinning programmes with foreign universities have also been granted permission to conduct all of their degree programmes locally (i.e. all 3 years of study in Malaysia) to enable students affected by the economic slowdown and devaluation of the ringgit to qualify for foreign degrees at a much reduced cost. Malaysia's first virtual university, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak was launched by the Education Minister on 21 December 1998 to further consolidate Malaysia's education reform via information technology. Apart from analysing in greater depth the major education events cited above, this review will also cover a wider spectrum of significant events throughout 1998, from pre‐school to tertiary education and the attention given to teacher training and the teaching service. 相似文献
