MOE, MOF TO LAUNCH 'ANAK KITA' PROGRAMME TO COMBAT SCHOOL DROPOUT ISSUE

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- To address the school dropout issue involving Malaysian students, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) will launch the Anak Kita programme this Friday. 

In a joint statement, MOE and MOF said that the programme focuses on improving literacy and numeracy among primary school students, improving the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) passing rate, and reintegrating dropouts into the education system.

"The learning recovery programme that will be implemented includes targeted interventions, remedial classes, teacher training and digital learning tools," read the statement. 

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It said the programme would be managed by the two ministries collaborating with the Hasanah Foundation, corporate organisations, civil society organisations, public universities, government-linked companies, and international organisations. 

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, in the same statement, said that based on the Examination Board's statistics, 10,160, or 2.65 per cent of the 395,870 registered SPM candidates, did not sit for the national examination last year.

"Of the number of students who sat (for the SPM exam) in the same year, 6.5 per cent of the total number of candidates, equivalent to 25,735 students, were not eligible to receive their SPM certificate," she said, elaborating the current dropout situation in Malaysia.

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Meanwhile, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that efforts to deal with dropouts are essential because education is the basis for human capital development, an asset to the country's economic prosperity.

He said in the statement that possessing an SPM qualification is critical to empowering the youth and ensuring productive participation in the workforce.

"A good education can build a generation with a good personality and intellectual skills that are much needed to drive a sustainable economy as outlined in the MADANI Economy framework.

"Through the improvement of education, the people can get out of the poverty crisis and raise the family's economic level for the long term in line with the Malaysian Government's desire to eradicate poverty in this country," he said.

-- BERNAMA