Pupils to master basic skills by Year Three

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PAGOH: The Education Ministry will ensure that by 2012, all primary school pupils will master reading, writing and arithmetic by the time they enter Year Three.

Education minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said there were Year Six pupils who still could not read or write properly.

"We want to eradicate this problem and this is one of the national key result areas (NKRA) that has been assigned to the Education Ministry," said Muhyiddin, who is also the deputy prime minister.

He said the ministry plans to check pupils in Year One so that they could identify any problems that might prevent them from mastering the three skills.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (right) presenting a mock cheque on behalf of Restoran Rakyat 1Malaysia to Parit Sulong member of parliament Datuk Noraini Ahmad at the restaurant’s official opening yesterday. With them is Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (left). The donation, which will go to orphans in Noraini’s constituency, is part of the restaurant’s weekly fundraising efforts where patrons pay any amount for their food and drinks every Friday. Ukhwah Cooperative president Datuk Rahim Baba says the campaign has been successful, with the pulling in an average revenue up by 50 per cent more revenue compared with other days.

"We want to find out if the pupils have problems like eyesight or hearing impairment or if they are slow learners. This way, we can come up with solutions for them."

Muhyiddin said this in his speech at buka puasa event with the people at the Sungai Terap mosque in Jorak near here last night.

He said the ministry would also increase the percentage of pupils entering Year One with preschool education by making it part of the education system.

"At the moment, only 67 per cent of pupils entering Year One received preschool education.

"We want to increase it to 87 per cent by 2012."

He said the ministry would open 318 new preschool classes next year, while the private sector would open another 400.

"The Community Development Department will also open 50 new kindergarten classes every year," said Muhyiddin.

In another development, he said the ministry would also offer incentives to principals, teachers and staff of schools that achieve excellence.

"The ministry is currently in discussion with the Finance Ministry and the Public Service Department on ways to give these incentives.

"Hopefully this will make teachers work harder to ensure their schools excel in all aspects including academic, management and administration."