Step have already been taken to address issues found in Pisa 2022, Fadhlina tells Parliament

PETALING JAYA: Ongoing steps have already been taken to address Malaysia’s performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) 2022, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek (pic) told the Dewan Rakyat.

“We cannot wait until the results (for the next round) are released. Instead, we have already taken intervention measures through various programmes to address the matter,” she said during her winding up speech on the motion of thanks on the Royal Address on Wednesday (March 13).

Fadhlina said all MPs should take heed of the various task forces formed for education reforms, and to monitor them together.

“The same goes for the national education development plan which is equally important,” she said.

She also pointed out an analysis on Malaysia’s performance in Pisa 2022 revealed that more attention was needed in bridging the gap between students in urban and rural settings.

“Findings also revealed how Malaysian students stated that our teachers helped them throughout the learning process.

“The aid and support from teachers during virtual classrooms sessions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic were also found to be much higher when compared to other countries,” Fadhlina added.

She was responding to a question by Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) who asked about the ministry’s proactiveness in tackling the issue.

“The standings are declining. We are seeing Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand overtaking us,” he said.

“How does the minister perceive this, as we want to preserve the quality of education,” he added.

The MCA president also raised a question on the evaluation system and whether a graph setting was still being used to determine the passing marks and grades.

To this, Fadhlina said the matter was already in the Education Ministry’s pipeline.

She added that a taskforce was also formed to align the curriculum.

“Here, all the matters raised on scores and grading are discussed. There will be an announcement soon on how we will ensure these issues can be addressed,” she said.