A ‘high degree of bureaucracy” in the Education Ministry stands in the way of actualising reforms, a United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) study has found.

“An interim 2012 Unesco report highlights a need for the ministry to reduce the high degree of bureaucracy that exists which hampers policy execution,” admitted Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the education minister.

He was delivering the keynote address at the 16th Malaysian Education Summit in Subang Jaya today.

He also mentioned last year’s survey by online job portal Jobstreet Malaysia which found that many Malaysian job seekers were lacking in character and English proficiency.

The study found that more than half of fresh graduate job applicants on the site were rejected by employers at the first interview stage for bad command of English or displaying bad attitudes.

“The ministry takes heed of the various findings with a view to producing a blueprint and a roadmap for a thorough transformation of the education system by the end of 2012.”

To address such deficiencies, the DPM announced a nine-point reform programme which will include looking into increasing the quality of our education, “resource efficiency and effectiveness” as well as “ministry delivery capacity and capability”.

The falling quality of Malaysian graduates has been a matter of concern for critics and proponents of national education alike.

The sluggish and multi-layered bureaucracy is a problem which plagues the Malaysian government as a whole, which continue to be the country’s largest employer despite the need for a leaner public service as seen all over the world.