assist teachers in activities related to Mathematics, Science and Reading Literacies for TIMSS

and PISA in schools, 260 Master Coaches were trained. The percentage of HOTS questions

included in 2016 UPSR and SPM remained at 20%. Questions on HOTS were incorporated into

Form 3 Assessment (

Pentaksiran Tingkatan

3, PT3) to assess student academic performance at

the lower secondary level.

School leadership:

As preparation for leadership positions, the National Professional

Qualification for Educational Leaders (NPQEL) was introduced to provide aspiring leaders with

the necessary leadership quality and skills to lead schools. The NPQEL is recognised by the

central agency as a certified training programme and is a prerequisite for school leadership

appointment. In 2015, 1,371 candidates were trained. The availability of a pool of certified

candidates has enabled the Ministry to successfully fill 99.1% of the vacant head teacher

positions with qualified leaders at a faster rate. Average placement time has declined from 88.1

to 9.5 days. The Ministry has also provided various support programmes for head teachers to

raise their leadership capabilities. These included mentorship programmes for newly appointed

head teachers, coaching and mentoring by School Improvement Partners (SIPartners+) and CPD

for underperforming school leaders by Institute Aminuddin Baki (IAB).

Expanding Parents and Community Involvement:

In 2013, the Ministry of Education piloted

Sarana Sekolah

(School Engagement Toolkit) to guide schools in promoting parental and

community involvement in education. The main goal of the

Sarana Sekolah

was to enhance the

cooperation between the school and the various stakeholders. To encourage parents and

community participation,

Sarana Ibu Bapa

(Parent Engagement Toolkit) was introduced with

the aim of providing methods for parents to be directly involved in schools. To facilitate the

effective use of these toolkits, the Ministry trained a total of 130,098 teachers and school leaders

nationwide in 2015.

Encouraging Private Sector Involvement:

The government acknowledges Public-Private

Partnership (PPP) which allows for greater opportunities and possibilities in supporting schools

to accelerate student performance. PPP in the education sector covers three work streams: One

off Programme, School Adoption Programme and Trust School Programme.

Educational Access among Ethnic Groups:

The

Orang Asli

and the indigenous community in

Malaysia comprise of diverse ethnic groups with unique culture and languages. They are also

spread out across provinces though mostly concentrate in remote areas. These minority groups

face higher risk of dropping out of school. The attrition rate among Orang Asli students remained

significantly higher than the national average (MOE, 2016). At present, there are 98 primary

schools catering to

Orang Asli

students. Comprehensive Special Model School (K9) was

established to provide nine years of schooling until lower secondary level with the aim to curb

the dropout rate among

Orang Asli

students after primary education. Qualified

Orang Asli

students are also accepted into the Bachelor in Education programme (

Program Ijazah Sarjana

Muda Perguruan

, PISMP) to ensure a healthy pipeline of teachers who understands the local

context and can serve the

Orang Asli

and indigenous communities’ best interest. Special

considerations are given to the

Orang Asli

and indigenous students who aspire to enter the

teaching profession.

Educational Access for B40 Communities:

Across all ethnicities, children from the bottom

40% household income group (B40) lag behind in terms of educational achievement. Various

initiatives were implemented to address the influence of poverty and socio-economic