Rosmah pushes for new education system

By Stephanie Sta Maria
KUALA LUMPUR: The prime minister's wife, Rosmah Mansor, today proposed an education system that can produce critical and creative thinkers.
In her keynote address at the world's inaugural First Ladies Summit here, Rosmah told the First Ladies of 15 nations that such a system would equip the world's future leaders with the necessary skills to navigate a diverse global environment.
She also pushed for an education system that extends beyond the traditional classroom approach to include learning in diverse communities both locally and internationally.
"The skills derived from this approach will provide the physical and mental resilience to catalyse change and effect transformation in complex environments," she said. "This in turn will facilitate conflict management to perpetuate a safer and better world."
Rosmah, who is the summit's host and organiser, also underlined the importance of science and technology in preparing children for a future society.
"The empowerment can be greatly enhanced by capitalising on the tendency of the young to be mobile and ICT savvy," she pointed out. "They can easily become part of the global knowledge-sharing chain that shapes opinions and drives global trends."
"If sufficiently educated, they form a significant demographic that can drive economic growth and contribute to global welfare. If not, they could be marginalised and radicalised, thus becoming easy recruits for subversive elements that can lead to global insecurity and instability."
The best and brightest
Rosmah stressed the need to recruit the "best and brightest" teachers, support them as professionals and use rewards and incentives to retain them.
Her call comes at a time when the quality of Malaysia's current education system is under scrutiny and being pressured to undergo an overhaul.
The three-day summit themed "A Child Today, A Leader Tomorrow" is a global initiative to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the next generation.
Thirty-one nations are represented at this summit by 15 First Ladies and sixteen ministers. The First Ladies include Shiranthi Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), Teuta Topi (Albania) and Maria De luz Guezuba (Mozambique).
The First Ladies will issue a declaration tomorrow, summing up their conclusions from the summit. This declaration will then be personally presented by Rosmah to the United Nations or UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) for implementation. Yesterday, the chairman of the summit sub-committee, Dr Rafidah Salim, said that the declaration would likely contain six resolutions encompassing security, education and health.
Also present was former First Lady Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Sharizat Jalil.