1st Class Plan, 3rd Class Execution

Ambition alone is not enough to be successful.

Great ambitious plans and dreams have too often fallen in mud-pots and hundreds of millions soiled and sunken.

The recent proposed Education Blueprint 2006-2010, an A-Z guide and direction on the country's education system, which highlights the need to revamp the national education system draws much critics attention.

Professor Mohamad Ali Hasan, the President of National Parent-Teacher Association had this to say:

"My biggest worry is that we have First Class Plans, but Third Class Execution. The quality of teachers and the infrastructure gap between rural and urban schools should be properly adressed."

Professor Datuk Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, the director of the Regional Centre for Educational Planning and Leadership said:

"Education must go beyond performance indicators into the art of teaching. To be a teacher you must master the science of teaching. For so long, the professional community has been asking for a reform in the assessment system because only what is assessed is taught well and what is not assessed is not taught well. ...There must be the unleashing of educational leadership supported by political will to ensure that our educational system is something we can be proud of."

Tasputra Perkim chairman Elahe Norman said: "students needed to be exposed to different cultures and different races. It is time to realise that in the process of globalisation, the competition in the job market is much harder. They should not stick to their own kind and they cannot just sit back, expecting the government to cater to their needs."

[Quote]

Sunday Interview with Hishamuddin: 'We have to build on strong fundamentals'

Q:There have been times during your tenure as Education Minister when educationalists and academicians say there needs to be total reform and that what the ministry is currently doing is merely putting "patches on an old shirt".

A: When I first began as Education Minister, I shared the same view. Everybody has an opinion on education. You always feel that the grass is greener on the other side and because we are now much more exposed and more educated, the expectations and demands are also higher.

I was no exception. When I came to the ministry, I was just a member of the public who was also a parent, having the same views and expectations. However, my recent trip to South Africa for the Commonwealth Ministers of Education meeting opened my eyes to the strong foundations and progress we have achieved in education.

When viewed in the context of our achievements vis-a-vis the other Commonwealth countries, it is heartening to note that our education system ranks very high in key indicators among our peers who share the same legacy, colonial past and system. In the recent report by the Commonwealth Secretariat, Malaysia ranked very high in terms of our literacy rate and also participation rate at all levels of education.

It is, therefore, crucial that everybody appreciates the fact that we need not start from scratch. We have to build on these strong fundamentals, adjust where necessary, reform where needed and re-engineer what is not working. [Unquote]

World Class Plan is our forte.... Third Class Executioners are our mainstay.

Cakap boleh serupa bikin ka? Nampak nya, selalu nya, biasa nya...

RM500 million project down the drain.

NST report - pg 4

6-years, and 20 million MyKads issued, RM500 million spent on the project to have all Malaysians use a single identification card with an objective to have the card serve 8-Applications, the card issued had so far serve just one - as an identity card; that's all.

After spending millions, the kinks in the MyKad have yet to be straightened out.

What about Millennium Monument project, Paya Indah Wetlands project, Movie Village Cyber Jaya, Monsoon cup, and many others?