Focus on lifelong learning, not leaving school at 16 – S'wak edu minister

Sarawak Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Roland Sagah Wee Inn has disagreed with Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli’s proposal for students to complete their secondary school at 16 years old so they can enter the workforce by 21.

The former economy minister suggested this while debating the 13th Malaysia Plan two days ago.

Sagah said the proposal was unnecessary, adding that the focus should be on lifelong learning.

“There’s no need for that. We are promoting lifelong learning, not stopping at 16. Why should it be 16 years old?

“No need to talk about that - just talk about lifelong learning,” he was quoted as saying by Borneo Post today.

Rafizi had said that the policy shift was necessary as Malaysia transitions into an ageing nation, requiring a younger workforce to contribute earlier to the economy.

"We must rethink the structure. If our children finish school at 16, by the time they complete tertiary education or skills training, they can start working at 21.

"That gives us a more productive population while buying us time to manage ageing-related challenges," the New Straits Times reported him as saying.

Universal preschool

Rafizi was speaking on structural reforms in education, particularly through investments in early childhood education.

He said universal preschool from the age of five is crucial due to the "garbage in, garbage out" principle, referring to the notion that if children's development is not optimised between the ages of five and nine, they risk falling behind by Standard Four or Five.

"That's why, if you look at the 13MP, we didn't even specify figures - how many billions and so on - but the commitment is to provide universal preschool education.”

Encourage upskilling

In a rebuttal, Sagah said continuous upskilling and learning are more relevant in today’s rapidly evolving industries.

“We encourage people to go and learn to upskill themselves.

"If last time, I knew how to do rubber tapping, now I have to know how to manufacture the machine that can make it even faster, so that I don’t need to go and get my hands dirty anymore.

“They (Rafizi) can say whatever they like,” he added.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had earlier mentioned that the government would make preschool education compulsory from the age of five to enhance educational outcomes.

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