1.

Introduction
As a developing country, Malaysia aspires to be a developed country in our own

mould of achieving balanced progress in economic, political, social, spiritual and cultural
as well as in education. However, Malaysia is experiencing a challenging time in
achieving higher quality of education. According to the Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA), Malaysia was ranked in an unfavourable position. Due to
that situation, teachers should make some preparations in order to uphold the quality of
education in Malaysia.
2.0

Teachers Preparations in Upholding Quality of Education in Malaysia

First of all, promoting and incorporating ICT skills in teaching and learning should

become a priority in education system. According to a study conducted by Blanskat,

Blamire and Kefala (2006), ICT has positive impact on students performances in
primary schools. In fact, schools with higher level of e-maturity show a rapid increase in
performances in scores compared to those with lower level. In addition, schools with
sufficient ICT resources achieved better results than those that are not well-equipped.
Hence, it proves that the incorporation of ICT in education enhances students
performances as teachers and students no longer have to rely solely on printed books
and other materials in physical media housed in libraries for their educational needs.
With the Internet and the World Wide Web, teachers can explore a wealth of learning
materials and access to remote learning at anytime from anywhere. Besides, ICT
enables the students to become effective independent learners as the opportunity will
be given to each and every student to learn on specific topic by using available
computer programs that are appropriate to the students level which have appropriate
tasks and provide feedback on performance.

Besides, integrating creativity and innovation in teaching and learning process is

a must in education. Since the world is changing, students need to have creative and
innovative minds in order to face and adapt future unpredictable challenges. Several
methods such as encourage the students to find the answers, use design thinking tools
and methods, as well as focus on the concept can be taken to provide opportunity for
the students to develop their creative and innovate minds on their own. For instance,
the implementation of reverse brainstorming and Lego Serious Play enable the
students to unleash their creativity and explore innovative solutions in the classroom in
the context of group discussion and brainstorming.
Other than that, to be able to achieve the Vision 2020 in establishing Malaysia as
a developed country in the education field, emphasis should be given to the Higher
Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) among the students. To actualise this, teachers play a
crucial role in order to mould the students to practise the HOTS. Generally, HOTS takes
thinking to higher levels than restating the facts. It requires a person to understand,
infer, connect, categorise, synthesise, evaluate and apply the information they know to
find solutions to problems in order to achieve their full potential. As it is important for the
students to master the HOTS, teacher should help to prepare them by incorporating the
skills needed in the teaching and learning session. Furthermore, research has shown
that student motivation increases when teachers hold them accountable for higher-order
thinking. This seems to be so, because teaching students higher-order thinking tasks
forces them to engage in thinking about particular things, and undertaking assessment
that requires intellectual work and critical thinking. Therefore, in order to assess so that
students can demonstrate mastery, teachers need to plan assessment items that allow
students to use all skills required. There are countless resources online and on paper to
assist in the teaching of higher order thinking, and while these are useful, an effective
teacher needs to make few changes to programs already in place in order to ensure
that students are encouraged to think. This will prepare Malaysian students to be able to
achieve the world-class education level.

3.0

Hindrances in Upholding Quality of Education in Malaysia

However, while the country is trying to achieve developed nation mission in 2020,

our education system is still having some problems that need to be solved as soon as
possible. One of the problems is lacking of expertise in teaching several important
subjects at schools. Every child needs a teacher is the theme that has been use in the
Global Campaign for Education. Expertise in teaching can be defined as well-trained
teachers that may affect learning if the schools are lacking of skilled teachers. It is very
important in ensuring to allocate the best teachers to children in the early grades, where
they can have the biggest impact on the weakest students. Other than that, starting to
reach the children at young age can prevent them from drooping out before they learn
to read or write, as it brings huge benefits to their learning potential later in life. To be a
part of that, an expertise in teaching needs to have a good level of education. Teacher
must not only master their subjects, they also need to develop strong teaching skills.
Unfortunately, the teacher training nowadays often does not provide teachers with the
appropriate skills to teach reading or writing to young children. Sometimes, teachers
also are not prepared for multilingual classrooms.
The second problem arise that may prevent the achievement of developed
country in 2020 is the insufficient of best infrastructure in schools. According to A.L
Jeffery, An effective school facility is responsive to the changing programs of
educational delivery, and at a minimum should provide a physical environment that is
comfortable, safe, secure, accessible, well illuminated, well ventilated, and aesthetically
pleasing. A study of working conditions in urban schools concluded that "physical
conditions have direct positive and negative effects on teacher morale, sense of
personal safety, feelings of effectiveness in the classroom, and on the general learning
environment. Building renovations in one district led teachers to feel "a renewed sense
of hope, of commitment, a belief that the district cared about what went on that
building." In dilapidated buildings in another district, the atmosphere was punctuated
more by despair and frustration, with teachers reporting that leaking roofs, burned out
lights, and broken toilets were the typical backdrop for teaching and learning.

4.0

Suggestions towards Upholding Quality of Education in Malaysia

There are some suggestions to uphold the Malaysian education system in order

to be a developed country in our own mould. First, the Ministry of Education should
enhance the Malaysian curriculum to become more flexible. As we concern, education
as a whole is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, which is responsible for
managing a comprehensive school system ranging from primary to post-secondary
level, regulate syllabi, controls national examinations and it supervises the development
of education in the country. Tertiary education in the country is managed by the Ministry
of Higher Education. Additionally, the Malaysian curriculum is design by the Central
Curriculum Committee which formulates curriculum policies as well as studies their
implications. They are also authorised to make any decision regarding the curriculum.
This shows that teachers are not having much power to determine their teaching and
learning session in order to meet the students needs which are various as they are
abide with the designated curriculum. Therefore, the curriculum should be design to be
more flexible for the teacher so that they can modify it according to any situation and the
needs of the students. This will ensure the students to grab as much knowledge as
possible as they are not abide with any strict curriculum which sometimes does not
meet their level.
Other than that, Ministry of Education should provide courses to all teachers in
order to supply them with the essential skills mentioned in the above section. The
courses should be obligatory to all teachers to attend so that they will be fully equipped
with vital skills needed as a teacher. These skills include the ICT skills, the Higher Order
Thinking Skills as well as any other skills that they find necessary to be attained before
going back to school to educate the student. This will bring meaning to the education
system as it will produce more expertise among teachers which can educate students to
become more independent and skilful.

5.0

Conclusion
As a conclusion, in achieving the developed country mission in 2020 there will be

the pros and cons that should be faced by the teachers. In this era of globalization,
Malaysia is very determined to be competitive with other countries to improve our
education qualities in order to achieve the mission of the developed countries in 2020.
Various strategies have been taken to improve the teachers skills in teaching for the
successful as well as effective teaching and learning process in a classroom. Other than
that, the strategies taken also are one of the assets that can be used to reduce the
numbers of illiterate students in schools. It is very important for the students to master
the literacy skills well so that they can compete with others from abroad.

6.0

References

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