PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry (MOE) is taking proactive measures for its vocational college programmes to be of quality while at the same time ensuring the ‘marketability’ of its students.
Education Director-General Datuk Dr Amin Senin (pix) said the ministry had decided to bring some improvements in its vocational college programmes in line with current needs, new government policies, and recommendations and views of various stakeholders including parents, teachers and the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP).
“Every programme offered has been accredited with the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA), thereby enhancing the marketability of the trainees for the future” he said in a statement here yesterday.
Under the Vocational College policy, Amin said the MOE’s target was to provide 70% of the students as skilled workers to the industry, 20% who would pursue their studies while 10% who would become entrepreneurs.
At the same time, he said the MOE also saw the need to provide a well-organised and effective academic management programme for student enrolment; effective human resource management, financial, administrative and student affairs, and continuous development of professionalism for teachers and officials.
Amin said the MOE had conducted the Vocational Education Transformation in 2012, by providing a Diploma-level programme to provide students with skills and technology to meet workforce needs in industry. “The ministry is of the view that after seven years of the introduction of the vocational college diploma programmes, it was time that the programmes prioritised on the standard and quality of education in line with the desire to produce high quality trainers,“ he said.
Amin said that claims by some parties that certain programmes were discontinued were not true.
However, he pointed out that several programmes were temporarily suspended for the purpose of reviewing the curriculum in order to meet MQA and the Skills Development Department accreditation.
“The MOE wishes to ensure industry certification and standards are followed and become the main reference for marketability, upgrading of skills and curriculum enhancement,“ he said.
