Ahmad Maslan: Introduce entrepreneurship as subject in schools

KUALA LUMPUR: Basic entrepreneurship education needs to be taught in secondary schools in order to increase the number of entrepreneurs in the country.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the introduction of such a subject is important as currently there is no specific subject to educate students on the basics of entrepreneurship.
Speaking to reporters after opening the 1st Malaysia Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education here yesterday, he said a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research in 2013 found that only 11.8% of Malaysians intended to start a business.
"According to statistics last year, only 1% of university graduates had become entrepreneurs within six months after graduation while 99% were either salaried workers or unemployed.
"This shows the mentality of the people who prefer salaried jobs rather than being a businessman," he said, adding that the introduction of such a subject can encourage student to venture into business.
He pointed out that there are hundreds of thousands of students who do not have basic knowledge of entrepreneurship after finishing high school and it continues to be a vicious cycle every year since the country attained independence.
He added that the proposal to introduce such a subject in schools is in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's vision to transform the country into an "entrepreneurial nation".
Ahmad said he has discussed this suggestion with Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh and they have given positive feedback.