Bernama
5 AUGUST 2012, KAJANG - The country's education system should undergo continuous transformation in an effort to produce people whom excel at critical thinking, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.
He said without critical-thinking people, a country would be left behind in development.
In marching towards a developed country, he said about 50 per cent of the country's workforce should acquire critical-thinking skills and knowledge.
"The government is looking at changes needed in the education system in an effort to produce critical-thinking students, workforce and people," he said after launching the national-level Science Fair for Young Children (SFYC) 2012 at the German-Malaysia Institute here today.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was quoted as saying that details of the education transformation plan in an effort to achieve an extraordinary quantum leap in the country's education field would be announced on Sept 11.
Meanwhile, Subramaniam said he learned that the Education Ministry had received more than 11,000 input on the proposed education transformation plan from the public through various channels, including dialogues.
On the SFYC, he commended the programme, which was spearheaded by the Malaysian Indian Science Intellectuals Association, as a good effort in creating a scientific environment, particularly in nurturing critical-thinking skills among the people from the school level.
He said studies had shown that a major flaw in the national education system was its inability to produce students who mastered critical thinking.
Subramaniam said SFYC challenged pupils in a thinking environment as ultimately the success of the education system would not be determined by knowledge acquired from textbooks alone, but also by thinking capacity, namely the ability to churn new ideas and concepts.