By : OXFORD BUSINESS GROUP
A REFORM programme is set to address many of the sector's challenges. The education system in Sabah is currently undergoing a substantial overhaul, with spending on human resources development on the increase and clear plans in place to improve both quality and accessibility across all Ievels of schooling.
This is good news for Sabah's young people, who will need higher qualifications to participate in the state’s emerging knowledge economy. This is also an encouraging sign for private schools, which are set to play an expanded role in skills training, capacity building and international admissions.
Sabah faces many educational challenges, including wide achievement gaps between schools in urban and rural areas. Moreover, weaknesses persist in the public school curriculum, which tends to prioritises rote memorisation over active learning.
"The public school system in Sabah is based on an antiquated teaching philosophy designed to help students take tests, but not analyse or interpret information. This prevents pupils from acquiring transferable skills, which in turn diminishes their employability in the private sector," Alan Lim, the principal and CEO of INTI College Sabah, told OBG.
In line with national education objectives, Sabah is confronting these challenges. From Kota Kinabalu to Tawau, preschools are expanding, public schools are promoting excellent teachers and universities are cultivating research partnerships with foreign institutions. Meanwhile, by leveraging their close ties to major industries, Sabah's private schools are increasing practical skills training to generate a more competitive workforce for the modern world.
STARTING OUT: Preschool is not compulsory in Sabah. However the authorities have begun expanding preschool programmes in order to boost enrolment in early childhood education.
In January 2011 the Sabah Department of Education announced that 58 new classrooms would open by the end of the year for existing government preschools in rural areas. State officials have also announced that 51 new private kindergartens will begin operating by early 2012.
A key objective here is to support the National Key Results Area for preschool education, which aims to increase enrolment rates for children aged four and five from 67% in 2010 to 92% by 2015.
STRUCTURE: From the age of six through to 17. Public education is provided essentially free of charge (a small registration fee's required). with an additional two years usually available at no cost. The formal public school system has four tiers, beginning with primary education, which is compulsory and typically lasts six years or until completion of the Primary School Evaluation Test. According to data from the Malaysian Department of Statistics, as of 2009 there were 1055 public primary schools in the state, along with 292,538 students and 24,069 teachers.
Children aged 13-15 may enrol in lower secondary school, which has traditionally culminated in the Lower Secondary Assessment (PMR) exam. However there are plans to abolish the PMR by 2014. To graduate from upper secondary school, which caters for pupils aged 16-17, students in public schools must sit the Malaysian Certificate of Education exam.
GROWING IN NUMBER: Between 2005 and 2009, the number of students in Sabah's secondary school system rose from 190,522 to 200,423, placing greater pressure on teachers and facilities.
Furthermore, as a consequence of the relatively high turnover rate. secondary school teachers in Sabah are typically less experienced than their counterparts working in other parts of Malaysia. The language of instruction in public primary and secondary schools in Sabah is Bahasa Malaysia, with private schools also offering teaching in both Chinese and Tamil. While critics argue that this mixed system impedes racial integration, supporters point out that a multilingual workforce is an asset in the global economy.
"By 2020 Sabah plans to account for at least 1% of the world`s tourism receipts. If we are to achieve this, our education system must produce a diverse workforce capable of serving visitors in a wide range of languages," said William Baya, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment.
HIGHER LEARNING: Tertiary institutions in Sabah are overseen by the Ministry of Higher Education. which accepts five qualifications for entering universities, including the Higher Secondary Certificate, GCE Advanced Levels and the Higher Religious Certification. According to official figures, whereas individuals with a tertiary education accounted for 16% of Sabah’s employed persons in 2009, those listing primary or secondary school as their highest educational attainment accounted for 29% and 46%of the workforce respectively.
These statistics point to a lack of skilledjobs, particularly for degree holders with high salary expectations. Indeed. as of late 2010, nearly 50% of job vacancies in Sabah were in agriculture, construction or other forms of manual labour.
To help curtail brain drain the exodus of skilled Sabahans to different states or countries in search of higher wages- the state must develop new industries that are capable of retaining university-educated talent.
"Brain drain continues to be a problem for the education sector in Sabah as well as for the development of the economy and the state, The only solution to this is to maintain our economic growth and reach developed status as soon as possible, thereby showing the real potential and career opportunities that exist in Sabah," Morni Kambrie, the CEO of SIDMA College, told OBG.
UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA SABAH: The state’s main institute of higher education is the University of Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Over the last two decades UMS has invested heavily in infrastructure development, steadily increased enrolment and become one of the country's most active research institutions.
ln 2010 UMS enrolled 17,753 students, including 16,422 undergraduates, 1331 postgraduates and 159 PhD students. Of 850 teachers at the university, 286 have doctoral degrees and all are encouraged to take part in overseas training to build relationships with the global academic community.
As the Vice-Chancellor of UMS, Kamaruzaman Ampon, said in a 2010 speech to the Asia Pacific Sociological Association, “lnternationalisation is a national objective of our education system. At UMS this is seen in the active collaboration in research and teaching programmes with universities worldwide."
Another key objective at the university is providing students with the training and resources they need to stay ahead of the innovation curve and contribute to society. UMS was the first institution in the country to offer an undergraduate programme in biotechnology. and in 2002 the school inaugurated a research institute to help drive the nascent industry and commercialise research.
In 2003 UMS opened the School of Medicine to train health care professionals and help Sabah’s growing population cope with the problem of doctor shortages. The university announced in 2010 that an agreement had been reached with South Korea's Zero TB World to establish a tuberculosis research centre on campus. with the goal of reducing the state’s high incidence of the disease.
In addition. to help preserve Sabah’s natural habitat and biodiversity, which attracts millions of tourists each year UMS oversees the Borneo Marine Research Institute. which has worked extensively with environmental protection agencies from around the world.
Despite these achievements, officials at UMS have acknowledged that the university is not yet producing enough scientific articles to meet the national key performance indicator for academic publishing.
Indeed, this is an issue for the Malaysian higher education system as a whole. According to the World Bank's 2009 Knowledge Economy Index, which measures the relationship between economic development and knowledge diffusion, Malaysia's global ranking is adversely affected by the relatively small number of articles the country`s scholars have published in peer-reviewed journals.
TRAINING: A major issue in Sabah's school system is the insufficient output of skilled workers. Although a significant portion of the state's budget is devoted to education, there is still a marked disconnect between what the government spends, what students learn and the needs of employers.
As Natalie Fung, the director of the Sabah Skills and Technology Centre, told OBG, "In our conversations with business Ieaders in Sabah. a common concern is the low skill level of local workers. Although our labour force is highly motivated, it often fails to meet the hiring requirements of private companies.
This problem is rooted in our system of education. To address these concerns, Sabah is not only boosting spending on education but also ensuring that funds are specifically targeted for human resource development. From 2009 to 2010, state spending on programmes designed to enhance human capital rose from RM188m ($59m) to RM248m ($78m), an increase of 32%. Moreover in 2010 Sabah allocated an additional RM10m ($3.1m) to send 850 students from the state to university, a notable increase over the 2009 scholarship fund, which totalled RM18m ($2.5m) and supported 700 students.
SHARING TRAINING EXPERTISE: Along with the increased spending on education, the state is providing a wide variety of practical training modules through the Sabah Human Resource Development Department (JPSM), which shares training expertise with more than 100 companies.
In 2010 the JPSM provided approximately 21,000 Sabahans with courses in information and communications technology, as well as language lessons in English, Japanese and Korean. In addition, the department offers a professional course in Microsoft-certified systems engineering, and a welding programme that delivers manpower to Sabah’s oil and gas industry.
"As the states economy becomes increasingly dominated by the hydrocarbons sector it is likely that demand in the education sector will follow suit. It is therefore expected that engineering courses will become increasingly important," Kambrie told OBG.
Between 2005 and 2010 more than 150,000 students enrolled in these various JPSM training programmes, with many of the participants coming from rural and currently underserved areas.
BRIDGING THE GAP: information barriers in Sabah; labour market make it difficult for workers to learn about job vacancies and employers to find suitable personnel. These gaps are exacerbated by the state's poor road network, which makes transportation costly and time-consuming for many workers, especially those from remote communities,
In order to bridge this divide, the JPSM not only delivers employer-driven training modules but also sponsors annual exhibitions across the state on business innovation, which are attended by hundreds of students and dozens of companies.
GOVERNMENT JOBS IN DECLINE: By creating link-ages between young people and successful enterprises, these events help students learn more about careers in the private sector. Malaysia’s employer of the future. According to the Malaysian Public Service Commission, while 44.348 individuals were hired for government work in 2009, in 2010 only 33,301 people were appointed to positions in public service, a decline of approximately 25%.
"Ambitious young people in Sabah have traditionally aspired to government employment, but now there are far fewer government jobs available. Consequently, we try to generate excitement about entrepreneurship and foster ties between students and the world of business," Maryo Ngasio, the Senior Deputy Director of the JPSM, told OBG.
Established in 1999, Sabah Skills and Technology Centre (SSTC) has also played a key role in bridging the gap between workers and employers. Registered as a non-governmental organisation but partially funded by the Sabah government. SSTC receives general direction from a management council representing 34 enterprises, including Sabah Energy Corporation, Kinabalu Motor Assembly and Steel Industries Incorporated. By collaborating with major industry players, SSTC is able to deliver training modules tailored to business interests.
To address the state‘s shortage of biotechnology experts, SSTC has begun offering the Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Special Training Programme, which combines three months of theoretical instruction with three months of internship experience.
Given projections that the biotechnology industry will create 160,000 new jobs in Malaysia by 2020, this programme is preparing young Sabahans for a major growth area in the national economy,
PRIVATE PROVISION: Sabah’s emphasis on job market training has included the increasing involvement of private schools and colleges, which have enjoyed rapid growth over the last few years.
According to figures from the Malaysian Department of Statistics, between 2002 and 2007 the number of private schools operating in the state jumped from 98 to 161, an increase of 65%. Over the same period, the number of teachers employed by private schools in the state grew by 33% from 1931 to 2567.
With incomes in Sabah rising and more expatriates working in the state‘s emerging industries, some argue that more opportunities will emerge for private educational providers.
"Growing industries in Sabah, such as oil and gas, will bring in more foreign workers and families, who will want to send their children to school. This will bring new customers to private schools, which are better prepared than public institutions to meet international quality standards," Ben Kong Chung Vui, the CEO of Wah Mie Group, one of the state‘s largest property developers, told OBG.
Growth in Sabah’s private education market has received encouragement from the authorities, who realise that private schools have great potential to attract foreign students and accommodate excess demand. both key priorities for the sector under the Economic Transformation Programme.
Given their connections to major employers, private schools are also able to deliver training programmes with high marketplace reIevance. This is a major selling point for Sabah’s youth, which face the highest state unemployment rate in the country. According to official figures, the 15-Z9 age group accounts for almost 80% of Sabah’s unemployed.
Although the relationship between public and private educational providers is improving, both sides have expressed reservations about the current state of affairs in the industry. Public officials in Sabah, for instance, are concerned with fragmentation in private education, as well as issues relating to quality assurance.
With the private sector growing so rapidly, regulators have found it difficult to oversee the rising number of schools, or to work with the industry as a whole on larger policy objectives.
Meanwhile, many private educational providers contend that the government needs to provide more incentives to nurture growth and relax work permit restrictions that prevent foreign students from seeking employment in Sabah after graduation.
Further a large number of private players argue that fragmentation is a positive development that provides greater choice to consumers, who can select from the increasingly broad range of pricing schemes and programme offerings that results.
lnaugurated in 1996, the Advanced Management and Technology Centre (PTPL) was one of the first private colleges in Sabah to receive accreditation from the Malaysian Qualifications Agency. With 10 campuses throughout the country, in the last 15 years PTPL has graduated 13.000 students under an array of vocational and academic programmes.
PTPL's academic offerings include bachelor’s degree programmes in international business, diploma programmes in medical laboratory technology and professional certificate courses in accounting.
ENTERING THE WORKFORCE: According to school officials, around 95% of enrolees at the Sabah branch find work within six months of completing their studies, Moreover: PTPL instructors work closely with students during the job search process, an unfamiliar area for many young pupils.
"From the drafting of targeted cover letters and CVs through to participating in interviews. we help students master the most important aspects of job hunting," Theresa Bungin, the Senior Communications Officer at PTPL Sabah, told OBG.
GLOBAL RECOGNITION: With strong international connections, private schools in Sabah have also attracted working professionals who need to bolster their resumes by obtaining globally accredited qualifications. As the third-oldest private school in the state, and one of the first schools in Sabah to be granted permission by the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs to recruit foreign students, Kinabalu Commercial College has a long history of supplying domestic and international workers with the credentials required for upward mobility.
One of the most popular offerings for professionals at Kinabalu Commercial College is the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) diploma, which is recognised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. The CAT programme attracts foreign students to the state and allows Sabahans to remain closer to home for their education, thereby avoiding the cost of pursuing the qualification overseas.
"We have a significant number of working adults who are pursuing internationally accredited accounting certificates atour college, including a large number of Sabahans sponsored by their employers. This represents a major contribution to the states human capital," Spencer Soo, the executive director of Kinabalu Commercial College, told OBC].
OUTLOOK: Sabah`s education system is entering a period of reform, with the outlook for private schools improving alongside government plans to increase skills training and foreign enrolment, and make the sector an engine of economic development. Challenges include disparities between urban and rural areas, and curricula detached from market demands.
However, the evolving market will remain attractive to schools with competitive pricing, brand recognition and globally accredited qualifications. lf educational opportunities continue to grow, the biggest gains will accrue to the states younger generations.
PRIVATE PERKS To find skilled work or gain admittance to prestigious universities, students in Sabah increasingly need a strong command of the English language. This becomes more obvious each year as the state becomes more integrated with the global economy.
However Sabah has a shortage of qualified English teachers, especially in the public school system. Public education is also criticised for not offering enough classes in English - a complaint that is likely to grow louder in 2012, when a controversial federal mandate will require all national schools to phase out English instruction in mathematics and science in favour of Bahasa Melayu.
Concerns over language instruction give private institutions, which typically conduct their classes in English, a significant advantage. This is exemplified by Sabah International Dynamic Management College (SIDMA), a fully accredited school in Kota Kinabalu that has increased enrolment from 23 students in 2003 to around 2000 students in 2011, primarily by offering a wide range of diploma and degree programmes in the global lingua franca.
"The ability to speak, write and understand a high level of English is an essential skill that Sabahans must have to compete in our globalised world," Morni Kambrie, the CEO of SIDMA College, told OBG. "Private providers understand this and provide their programmes in English".
SIDMA’s other strengths indicative of broader private sector practices include highly practical coursework and modem facilities. Many of its courses are offered in affiliation with Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, one of Malaysia’s most respected higher education institutions. "Private schools offer partnerships with domestic and foreign universities and this is a draw for students," said Kambrie.
In March 2011 SIDMA further bolstered its position by signing a memorandum of agreement with Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), a well established private research institution wholly owned by electricity company Tenaga Nasional. Under the agreement, SIDMA will become the first college in Sabah to offer UNITEN foundation. diploma, and degree modules. This will provide more English-language degree options for local students, who will no longer have to travel to distant branch campuses in Peninsular Malaysia to pursue studies at UNITEN. At the signing, the Tourism, Culture And Environment Minister, Masidi Manjun, voiced his support for the deal, and encouraged further private sector involvement in Sabah’s education system to reduce the financial and administrative burden of the government "Public and private education should not be viewed as separate entities. Side by side, the two can help the state to achieve its target of becoming an education hub," Manjun said.
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