Izah Azahari
As the Sultanate emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that challenges can be overcome, as economic and environmental changes happening around the world today have the potential to and are already affecting many aspects of the education landscape, Minister of Education Datin Seri Setia Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh said.
She made these comments during the Teacher’s Day Conference in conjunction with the 32nd Teacher’s Day celebration yesterday.
Efforts of educators who continue to deliver quality education despite the challenges have been commended with their innovativeness in designing curriculum-aligned digital resources and assessment modality, illustrating their creativity and more importantly, their commitment to ensure all students are involved in the learning process. Indirectly, teachers and schools have already begun transforming education, she said.
“The Teacher’s Day Conference is taking place at a time when we as a nation have undergone the unprecedented change brought on by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic,” the minister said.
Being at the forefront of the education system, teachers are the catalysts in transforming education and the mainstay in quality education.
The minister noted that, as such, the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) continued investment in teacher training and professional development is paramount.
Earlier, Datin Seri Setia Dr Hajah Romaizah said the annual conference convenes educators as a key milestone in the current advancement of transforming the education system to build a sustainable and healthy future for all through quality education.
“There are serious concerns that these changes will adversely affect education.
“Therefore, we should continue this momentum of transforming education to ensure that schools, teachers and learners are well-prepared for any eventualities,” said the minister.
She further noted the need to be resilient and stay committed for the future of students and youth, adding that transformation and innovation are mutually inclusive as they need to go hand in hand and be evident at every level.
“While schools are putting more emphasis on blended teaching and learning these recent years, the ministry, among many others, has developed and successfully administered the Student Learning Survey (SLS),” said Datin Seri Setia Dr Hajah Romaizah.
This national standardised assessment is designed to support teachers and schools in evaluating students’ competencies, which more importantly plays a critical role in developing data-driven strategies.
“Above all, I trust that this Teacher’s Day Conference will inspire educators, academics and researchers present here to be bold and to continue to be innovative when navigating complexities. Ultimately, this is a positive step towards empowerment,” the minister said.
