Ministry of Education Make Changes to SPN21

MoE making three core changes to implementation of SPN21
on: February 16, 2017

| Azlan Othman |

THE Minister of Education, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman has announced that his ministry is making three core changes in terms of curriculum and assessment, the structure of the education system and the vocational and technical system, in response to the aspirations of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam for the implementation of the National Education System for the 21st Century (SPN21).

Speaking at a dialogue session with Legislative Council members yesterday, the minister quoted from His Majesty’s titah during the celebrations for Teacher’s Day 2016 where the monarch underlined “the need for the National Education System for the 21st Century (SPN21) to develop and function in an integrated manner with the nation’s programme, as the basis for the national development plan in education.”

The minister said, “To strengthen the implementation of SPN21, several initiatives have been undertaken by taking some core changes into consideration. In the first aspect, regarding changes to the curriculum and assessment, among the newly-implemented initiatives is the Brunei Teachers’ Standard and Teachers Performance Appraisal.”

Meanwhile, efforts are also underway to strengthen the provision and intervention framework on the National Literacy and Numeracy Standard, with several curriculum experts being involved in the project, including international coaches and international school leaders.

“Their involvement is very significant, with regard to views and consultations in the employment of the best pedagogical practices and programmes to improve the quality of teaching and learning,” said the minister.

“This will not only improve student performance for the Primary School Assessment (PSR) and GCE ‘O’ Levels, particularly in English Language and Mathematics, but international coaches are also assisting the ministry in managing the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which has been disseminated to all schools, general public and parents.

“This programme will be exercised in 2018, to ensure the competency of our students on an international level, through participation in PISA.”

At the same time, amendments have been made to primary and secondary school education, to increase the effectiveness of the National Literacy and Numeracy Standard, including convening an integrated curriculum for Years 1 and 3.

“With the improvement of the integrated curriculum at primary levels, we hope to help students to be better prepared with the skills that have been applied within the early stages of education,” said the minister. “This should provide another advantage, at secondary school level.”

The minister also announced that the School-based Assessment has been consolidated in all schools, not only to provide knowledge and understanding to students, but “to provide skills that are more focused and adjusted towards high-order thinking which includes increasing application, analysis and evaluation of student involvement in practical work, projects, presentations and learning activities that are more geared to ‘quality-oriented education’, instead of teaching and learning for examinations.

“Meanwhile, in the aspect of education structure changes, students who are more adept in hands-on skills will be channelled to appropriate lessons so that there will be no school drop-outs. They will be given multiple pathways.

“In the aspect of changes to vocational and technical education and initiatives, it involves changes from the Technical and Vocational Education Department to Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE). Others include the renaming of IBTE’s Training Centre to IBTE Central and IBTE Satellite.”

Yesterday’s dialogue session also featured a briefing from the Ministry of Education on the National Key Performance Indicator, which was presented by Shahrizal bin Haji Emran, the Head of the Strategic Enterprise Performance and Delivery Unit (SEPADU).

He touched on the ministry’s initiatives for Vision 2035, which involve increasing the number of highly-skilled teachers and educational institutions; and continuing professional development from the Brunei Darussalam Teachers Academy (BDTA) to improve teaching methods, including assessment in equipping students with 21st Century knowledge and skills.

During the session, YB Awang Naim bin Haji Kamis, Penghulu of Mukim Kota Batu and a member of the Legislative Council, said that teachers should not be burdened with other tasks such as administrative and library work, which could interfere with their teaching duties.

“The ability and performance of teachers should be continuously monitored, as some parents may owe their children’s excellent school results to private tuition lessons,” he said.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin