TOKYO (Feb 19): The government intends to send Malaysian students to study technical and vocational education and training (TVET), in line with Look East Policy 2.0.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the plan is among government measures to empower the country’s TVET, after the government expressed its desire to send more Malaysian students to take up TVET in Japan and South Korea.
“Apart from Japan and South Korea, I am confident that the intention of the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) is also to send students from Malaysia to China to learn in several high technology fields.
“Look East Policy 1.0 did not include China, but today, they are almost as advance, if not more advance than Japan and South Korea,” he told Malaysian media after visiting the Tokyo National Institute of Technology (Kosen) to learn more about the Kosen model here on Monday.
The Kosen model stresses on the concept of learning TVET comprehensively by providing a five-year learning path for students who choose TVET from as early as 15 years old.
In a gathering with about 70 Malaysian students in Japan on Sunday (Feb 18), Ahmad Zahid said more local students will be sent to study TVET abroad, in line with the government's efforts to strengthen the country's TVET.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid, who is on a seven-day working visit to Japan, said the National TVET Policy is expected to be presented to the Cabinet in March, before being launched on June 2, in conjunction with National TVET Day.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said the main framework of the policy is already available and the TVET secretariat is updating all information obtained.
He said the TVET secretariat had also distributed the National TVET Policy to 12 ministries, the Attorney General's Chambers, and several other agencies to get their views.
“After this is completed, we will present it to the Cabinet. Hopefully in March, I will present it to the Cabinet for implementation approval and launch in June,” he said.
Currently, Malaysia has 1,345 TVET institutions, with a 92.5% employability rate for TVET graduates.
He said the framework would be a guideline for TVET programmes across the country to be adapted to meet the needs of the industry.
“This policy will also be enacted to increase the marketability and competitiveness of the workforce, in addition to laying the foundation for sustainable economic growth and national prosperity,” he said.