KUALA LUMPUR: The Saudi Arabian government has agreed to send their teachers specialising in English, Mathematics and Science over to Malaysia to gain teaching experience. This training stint is in view of the 21st Century educational system. The agreement was reached between the Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik and Saudi Arabia’s Education Minister Dr Hamad bin Mohammed Al Shaikh, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations, revealed a statement from the ministry.
The Saudi government also agreed to grant 300 scholarships to Malaysian undergraduates pursuing studies in science and technology.
Earlier, Maszlee was sent as a special envoy on behalf of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to meet with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud, to discuss issues of both countries and collaborating in education.
On a separate note, Maszlee said at the launch of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) Education Colloquium in Putrajaya, that local universities revise their curriculum related to technology and the industry once a year. He raised the issue on programming and accountancy graduates who could not get jobs because the software programme they learnt in university was outdated and cited the IOS application, stating “they (graduates) were never exposed to that technology in university ... we do not want this to continue happening.”
Compared to scheduled curriculum revisions which may take a longer period, the annual revisions done in collaboration with the Education Ministry and the industry, can prepare graduates to be more ‘industry-ready’ and in tune with current developments, he said. — Bernama
