Malaysia Students Blog

Budget 2012: Students to Get RM200 Book Voucher from January 3

2011-12-10T15:42:00.001+08:00

Posted by Chong

Some of the major announcements related to education made in the federal budget 2012 tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in parliament in October this year are:

RM50.2bil will be allocated to the education sector so that it can continue to develop talented, creative and innovative people
RM1bil will be provided through a special fund for the construction, improvement and maintenance of schools
We will abolish payments for primary and secondary education, making these free for the first time in our history
Private schools registered with the Education Ministry will be given incentives including an Investment Tax Allowance
The Govt will give tax exemption for contributions to educational institutions and all places of worship
To encourage private sector human capital development incentives including a double deduction on scholarships will be offered
Book voucher worth RM200 will be given to Malaysian students in all private and public institutions of higher learning
One off RM100 aid for each school pupil aged 6 to 16.
RM120 million to offer 5,000 Masters and 500 doctoral scholarships for eligible civil servants, including teachers.
The government will offer 20,000 places for diploma teachers to pursue undergraduate studies.

Update 16/12/2011: Minister of Higher Education Ministry said that only those higher education students registered and active in January till March 2012 are eligible for this book voucher.

Today, Minister of Higher Education Ministry, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said eligible Malaysian students can start collecting RM200 book voucher from the respective education institution from the 3rd of January, 2012. All current part-time and full-time Malaysian students in Form 6, Matriculation, diploma, Vocational programmes and polytechnics schools and those undergraduates (degree) and postgraduates (master, phd) studying at public and private local institutions of higher learning are eligible.

Previously, deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said that the book voucher is not redeemable for cash and students must make full use of it to buy books, references, journals, Science magazines or learning aids.

Also, the higher education institutions have prepared a list of eligible students together with their identity card numbers or matriculation or registration numbers. Students must ensure that their names, identity card numbers and the stamp of their institution are filled on each voucher. Each voucher has the value of RM50 hence each eligible student will receive a total of four RM50 book vouchers. The book voucher is valid from the 1st of January, 2012 until the 31st of March, 2012. These vouchers can be used at all participating bookstores.

We will update this post when more details evolve.

From the Prime Minister's Budget 2012 speech (download pdf):

41. Knowledge is the pillar of civilisation and the foundation for excellence. Therefore, to achieve the aspiration of becoming a developed and high-income country, the Government continues to give priority to the development of the education system to produce talented, highly-skilled, creative and innovative workforce. The education sector will be allocated RM50.2 billion in 2012. For the Ministry of Education, development allocation amounting RM1.9 billion will be spend on all types of school consisting of national schools, national-type Chinese and Tamil schools, mission schools and Government-assisted religious schools.

42. In addition, RM1 billion will be provided through a special fund for the construction, improvement and maintenance of schools, particularly to cater for the immediate needs of schools. Of this, RM100 million each will be for the national-type Chinese schools, national-type Tamil schools, mission schools, Government- assisted religious schools, Maktab Rendah Sains MARA while the remaining RM500 million for national schools.

43. To provide a brighter future for all Malaysian children irrespective of their socioeconomic background, the Government will ensure quality and affordable access to education. Currently, students in primary and secondary schools are still required to pay RM24.50 and RM33.50, respectively, for co-curriculum, internal test papers, Malaysian Schools Sports Council fees and insurance premium. To ease the burden on parents, it is proposed that these payments be abolished commencing the 2012 school year. With this announcement, for the first time in history, primary and secondary education is provided free. The abolition of these payments would involve an allocation of RM150 million.

44. The private sector also plays an important role in providing quality education towards creating an excellent future generation. In line with this, the Government proposes private schools registered with the Ministry of Education and complies with stipulated regulations be given the following incentives:
First: Income tax exemption of 70% or Investment Tax Allowance of 100% on qualifying capital expenditure for a period of 5 years;
Second: Double deduction for overseas promotional expenses to attract more foreign students; and
Third: Import duty and sales tax exemptions on all educational equipment. The Government hopes that the savings accrued to the private school operators will subsequently result in the reduction of school fees to ease the burden of parents.

45. Registered primary and secondary schools, including national schools, national-type schools, mission schools and Government-assisted religious schools often receive financial contribution from companies and individuals to upgrade school facilities. To encourage more charitable activities, contributions are eligible for tax deductions. This facility will be extended to all registered places of worship. The Government will expedite tax exemption approvals for education institution and all places of worship.

46. In addition, the private sector is encouraged to work together in strengthening the development of high-skilled human capital. To achieve this, the Government proposes tax incentives as follows:
First: Double deduction on allowances paid by companies to the participants of internship program;
Second: Double deduction on scholarship awards; and
Third: Double deduction on expenses incurred to participate in career fairs abroad.

Exclusive: IPTA Special Deepavali 2011 Holiday from October 25 to 28

2011-10-05T13:31:00.000+08:00

Posted by Chong

You read this first at Malaysia Students Blog (www.Malaysia-Students.com) Share on Facebook / Tweet this post to share this news with your friends. We were also the first to break the news that IPTAs change to summer break academic term - four months semester break in 2011. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog so that you are the first to get all the latest education news.

In late July, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the government through the Higher Education Ministry will make changes to local public universities (IPTA) semester schedule so that Indian students can return to their hometowns to celebrate Deepavali on October 26 (Wednesday), 2011.

The announcement was made by Prime Minister when launching the 1Malaysia Indian Student Movement (1MISM) at Universiti Malaya on July 27 this year. Some other great news to the Malaysian Indian community announced that day was:

Yayasan 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scholarships would be awarded to Indian graduates who obtained first class honours and come from lower income families to further their studies at Masters and PhD level.
Vegetarian food will be made available at the local public universities in the future.
Public universities would be providing buses to transport Indian students to temples on Friday evenings.

We have just got the confirmation from official sources that October 25 (Tuesday) to 28 (Friday) will be the special Deepavali 2011 holiday for local public universities (IPTA).

Depending on the state of the IPTA, undergraduates of all races will be enjoying five to six days Deepavali holiday (Cuti Sempena Hari Deepavali 2011)! Universities located in Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu will resume classes on October 30 (Sunday) while others on October 31 (Monday).

October 25 (Tuesday) - Holiday starts
October 26 (Wednesday) - Deepavali 2011
October 30 (Sunday) / 31 (Monday) - Classes resume

At the time this post was written, the academic calendars of most local public universities have yet to be updated to reflect this change.

Have you bought your bus or flight tickets? How do you plan to spend your holiday? Let us know in the comment.


Diwali / Devali / Deepawali also known as Festival of lights

Update 10/10/2011: Below is the official letter sent by Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) to all local public universities (IPTA) on September 15, 2011.

STPM & SPM 2011 Tips & Trial Papers

2011-09-20T01:24:00.002+08:00

Posted by Chong (Last Updated: 14 October 2011)

Submit Your STPM & SPM 2011 Exam Tips and Trial Papers to be included in this list.

Share a link to this post on your blog / twitter / facebook and you will be featured here!

Related post: 2011 Exam Dates (Tarikh Peperiksaan) and UPSR & PMR Tips and SPM & STPM 2011 Tips and Trial Papers.

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More trial papers coming soon! Bookmark this post and check back later!

Muhyiddin: Malaysia to Attract 200,000 International Students by 2020; Diaspora an Asset to Country

2011-09-13T12:10:00.000+08:00

Posted by Chong

"It must be reiterated here that people who migrate are not unpatriotic and the government does not view them as such. The Malaysian diaspora is an asset to our country - an asset that we do not want to alienate but an asset that we would like to co-operate with and hopefully entice to return to return in the near future" said Y.A.B. Tan Sri Dato' Hj. Muhyiddin Bin Yassin, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Malaysia during opening speech for Education Nation Conference 2011, a 2 day premier conference which is held on the on the 13th and 14th September 2011 at Royal Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.

This is reflected through the formation of Talent Corp, a government body with a mandate to attract those diaspora back to our country through various enablers, programs and incentives. He also said Malaysia government should co-operate with those diaspora in foreign countries by keeping an open channel via Malaysia embassies.

On the higher education front, the Deputy Minister said that through co-operation with established and renowned institutions abroad, the government intends to make the education sector an economic endeavour by attracting more foreign students. The government aspires to attract at least 200,000 international students by year 2020 which roughly translates into RM 600 billion worth of exchange. Malaysia's strategic regional position forms a melting pot of confluence that allows cross-fertilization of ideas, cultures and civilizational dialogues. This will enable greater understanding of the various aspirations and hope, and for Malaysia, to allow itself to position accordingly in facing challenges that may lie ahead.

The Minister of Education also claimed that Malaysia has possibly the most open and liberal policies anywhere in the world as Malaysia is the early pioneers of twinning programs with foreign institutions long before it become an established form. These programs have been fine-tuned over the last decade or so to not only provide the same quality of education offered in their country of origin, but also at a fraction of the original cost benefitting many Malaysians.

Malaysia Students Blog has attended this conference which has an impressive list of speakers and interesting topics on education in Malaysia.
Session 1: Where has Malaysia’s Talents Gone? : Reassessing how we are educating and preparing our youth for the future The setting up of Talent Corporation is an acknowledgement by the government that we have serious problems with attracting and retaining talent in Malaysia. The importance of effective talent management has put people a.k.a the citizen now at the center of investment and development under
the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).
- Is Malaysia struggling to stem ‘brain drain’ as talent departs?
- What are we doing wrong to push our talent away?
- Is Malaysia really lacking talent? Or is it the system?
- Equality in Malaysia’s education system

Panelist:
Jeremaiah Opiniano
Executive Director of the Institute of Migration & Development Issues (IMDI), Philippines

Emeritus Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Khoo Kay Kim
Emeritus Professor, Department of History, University Malaya
Chancellor, Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU)

Mohamad Kamal Haji Nawawi
General Manager for Strategic Programmes, Talent Corporation Malaysia

Moderator Discussant:
Mark E Disney
Chief Operating Officer, London Chamber of Commerce & Industry International Qualification, Asia

Session 2: Education NKEA and KPIs: Transforming Education as an Engine of Growth.
The Development of the Education NKRA agenda aims to widen access to quality and affordable
education and to improve student outcomes to strengthen Malaysia’s economic competitiveness and
move to a high-income knowledge society for Vision 2020. Does Malaysia have the right formula to
achieve these goals?
- The fundamentals of good education for a progressive economy
- The 5 essential shifts of the Education NKEA Transformation
- Education Quality Review and Benchmarks
- Case Study: Finland – Best Education System in the World (UN’s Human Development Index: Education Index 2008)

Speakers:
Prof Keiichi Ogawa
Professor of Economics and Education, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University Japan & the Former Education Economist at the World Bank, Japan

Timo Karmakallio
Chargé d’Affaires a.i. (Counsellor)Embassy of Finland

Mdm Lok Yim Pheng
Secretary General, National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP), Malaysia

Moderator:
Umapagan Ampikaipakan
Freelance Writer, Book Critic and Radio Deejay at Business FM, Malaysia

Session 3: Upgrading Malaysia to a World-Class Education Hub.
Malaysia’s strategic location, multiracial culture and harmony have made the nation a favourite destination among foreign businesses, tourists and students. However, the growing competition regionally from countries like China, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and South Korea to be the Education Hub in Asia, will force the nation to rethink its current strategy. How can Malaysia maintain it’s comparative advantage in the region? What does it take to be a World Class Education Hub?
- A global status requires a global mind set
- Prestige, brand and quality: Lesson from the best.
- Case Study: England and Hong Kong

Speakers:
Prof. John MacBeath
Director of Leadership for Learning, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, England

Prof. Dr. der Soz Gumilar R. Somantri
President & Rector, Universitas Indonesia (UI), Indonesia

Dr. Tae-Wan Kim
President, Korean Education Development Institute (KEDI), Korea

Moderator:
Dr. Geoffrey Williams,
Director of the Academy of Responsible Management and Chairman of the Education Committee in the EU Malaysian Chamber of Commerce. Malaysia

Session 4: Technologically Enhanced 21st Century Learning
- Importance of Technology for Globalized Learning
- Challenging the ‘Net Generation’: Can teachers keep up?
- Raising the bar and Closing the gap between Rural and Urban education with Technology

Speakers:
Tony Brandenburg
President, Australian Council of Computers in Education, Canberra, Australia

Prof. Dr. Fong Soon Fook
Professor of Multimedia Education, School of Distance Learning, University Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

Jang, Snag-Hyun, Ph.D
Vice President of Global Education Planning Center, Korea

Session 5: Voices of Our Future Generation
Is our future generation prepared to meet the challenges of the real world? If not, what is missing?
- Malaysian Education in the eyes of the student
- How can it be improved?

President of Student body Council:
Nor Huda Mahmud
Council Member, MASSA Student Association, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

Prabsimran Singh
President of Student Representative Council, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

James Chai
President of Student Representative Council, Curtin University Malaysia, Sarawak Campus, Malaysia

Moderator Discussant:
Christopher Tock
co-founding conveners, Young Corporate Malaysia

Session 6: Employers Debate: Quantity vs Quality of Graduates Moving into the Workforce
In today’s competitive environment, organizations are looking for graduates who have balanced skill set and are capable of demon strating superior performance at work at all levels. In reality majority of graduates produce every year still lack of sufficient knowledge, skills and the basic attributes that are essential to enable them to ‘serve’ themselves or their employers, and the larger society.
- Why are our local graduates not making the ‘grades’?
- Change of Mindset towards the ‘English’ language – the universal language of business.
- Generation Y: Employer’s expectations and reality

Panelist:-
Vimala Bnoo Pathy
Corporate Human Resource, Talent Acquisition, SIEMENS Malaysia

Khairul Azman Yasin
Head of Education & Learning, Human Resources Management Division,
Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Malaysia

Moderator Discussant:-
Sam Haggag
Country Head, Manpower Malaysia

Session 7: World Class Education Institutions – Where do Malaysia’s Schools and Universities stand?
Malaysia’s premier university, University Malaya (UM) has dropped from the top 200 of the prestigious 2010 QS World University Rankings - slipping to 207 this year compared to 180 in year 2009.
- Why are our universities not moving up the ranks? What are the underlying reasons & what can we do about it to raise the bar?

Panelist:
Dr. Mahender Singh
Director of Research for MIT Supply Chain 2020 Project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Prof. John MacBeath
Director of Leadership for Learning, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, England

Prof Robin Pollard
Pro-Vice Chancellor & President of Monash University, Malaysia Campus

Jiang Xueqin
Director & Deputy Principal, Peking University, High School, China

Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Vice Chancellor, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia

Moderator Discussant:
Mark E Disney
Chief Operating Officer, London Chamber of Commerce & Industry International Qualification, Asia

Session 8: Affordable Education: Lower Quality?
Every year new private colleges and universities are popping up in Malaysia to cater to the local market and the growing influx of foreign students coming to Malaysia to study. Yet every year Malaysia is faced with a growing problem of unemployed graduates from both the public and private higher education institutions. Who should be responsible for the rate on unemployed graduates? The students? The government? Or the institutions producing these graduates?
- Private vs Public Education
- Why are parents willing to pay top dollar to send their children abroad to further their studies?

Speakers:
Dr. Siva Ananthan
Educationist Advisor, CTT Global Consultants, Malaysia.

Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim
Chairman, Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia

Keeran Sivarajah
Co-Founder and Executive Director of Teach For Malaysia