Educational Insights - Asia

Here at Bett we are passionate about Education and Technology and the solutions that will make huge advancement possible. We conduct in-depth research throughout the year to keep ourselves up to date with developments across the region and ensure we’re providing the most relevant content.

Here are some of the regional educational news and insights we’ve discovered this week:

Cambodia & Bangladesh

The Prime Ministers of Cambodia and Bangladesh have signed nine memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to boost trade between the two countries. The instruments aim to enhance cooperation in various fields like tourism, agriculture, civil aviation, ICT and technical education. One focused on the academic cooperation between Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies and the International Relations Institute of Cambodia. Read more.

Hong Kong

Science, technology, engineering and maths teachers (STEM) from more than 400 schools have been surveyed across Hong Kong: 83% said they did not have enough STEM training and support; 82% felt there was inadequate infrastructure for teaching in the field; 71% said there was a lack of support for teaching materials and 36% were confident to teach STEM subjects.

STEM opportunities for pupils was a key focus for Chief Executive of the Federation of Education Workers Carrie Lam when she took office in July, but there have been no specific proposals made for STEM at primary or secondary level, with her focus instead diverted to research and development opportunities at university level. Read more.

Malaysia 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Primary and Secondary school education is now free under the new government budget. This will cover free education for 5.2 million students across Malaysia. Read more.

The Ministry of Higher Education has launched The Blueprint on Lifelong Learning for Islamic Education 2017-2025. Minister Idris Jusoh said that they aimed to give the public more opportunities to obtain religious knowledge through academic and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes offered at Higher Education Institutions. He said: ‘The blueprint will give added value and continue to strengthen Islamic education up to international level in line with the fourth industrial revolution.’ Read more.

The Deputy Minister of Education has announced plans to remove the culture of ‘elite classes’ from schools within the next 3 years. He urged schools and parents to focus on providing and developing holistic education for the children rather than being overly exam-oriented. Read more. 

New Zealand 

A report published by the Education Review Office has found that many trained teachers go into their first jobs unprepared to manage student’s behaviour, to help students with special needs or to use tests and data to assess students' achievement. The report came 2 days after the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) revealed that the average reading level of 10-year olds has dropped to the lowest on record. The ERO surveyed approximately 850 recent graduates and 20% stated that what they learnt in training did not correlate/translate to working in a school. Education Minister, Chris Hipkins said that training needed: "much more of a practical component, and training institutions should be required to recruit trainees to meet shortages in subjects such as maths, science and te reo Māori.” Read more.

Thailand

The Office of Basic Education Commission has drawn up guidelines on how teachers can reduce homework. The Ministry Of Education is focusing on this change to reverse the negative impact heavy amounts of homework has on students; this includes stress, depriving them of the time to develop other skills (including soft skills) and spending time with their family. Read more.