Boost for vocational education

By ZUHRIN AZAM AHMAD
zuhrinazam@thestar.com.my

SYDNEY: Vocational education will be allocated a larger slice of the Education Ministry’s 2011 budget to revive interest in it, said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Deputy Prime Minister said major adjustments would be made to the quantum of allocation.
“The allocation for vocational (education) is insufficient and I have directed the secretary-general to make major changes,” he told Malaysian journalists after visiting the TAFE Sydney Institute here yesterday.
Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, is on a five-day working visit to Sydney and Melbourne.

TAFE Sydney Institute is the largest and most prestigious technical and vocational learning centre in Australia with an average annual enrolment of 76,000 students.
Muhyiddin said the quantum for vocational education needed to be higher as a major revamp would be conducted.
“It (revamp) will take place soon because I am a bit impatient in terms of time as we have been overtaken by many developments in the industrial sector.
“We have to drastically transform these technical and vocational fields to produce sufficient skilled workers to meet the demand expected to be generated by sectors identified in the NEM (New Economic Model).
“This has to come within the next few months as I would like to see vocational studies become a very important component in our education system in the 10th Malaysia Plan,” he said.
Muhyiddin said the target was to increase the number of students taking up vocational studies two-fold once the revamp was implemented.
“Presently, only about 10% of our students take up vocational studies and this certainly cannot meet the need for skilled manpower.
“I am waiting for the comprehensive report by the Technical and Vocational Division and we will see how to move forward,” he said.
On his visit to the centre, Muhyiddin said Malaysia was keen to learn more from the 120-year-old institute on how to turn vocational education into an attractive and promising field.