PETALING JAYA: The Education Ministry is revising the primary school curriculum for Bahasa Malaysia, English, Science and Mathematics subjects.
Its head of corporate affairs Anis Diyana Azizi said the review was initiated after considering input from various stakeholders.
The move comes after teachers and parents complained on social media that some of the content in primary school textbooks was irrelevant to the curriculum.
In one incident, a school teacher took to Facebook to highlight a Standard Three textbook lesson about money and the currency rates of different countries.
The teacher questioned how currency rates could be relevant to primary schoolchildren.
“The ministry has conducted various activities such as organising conferences and engagement sessions to gather feedback and views from different stakeholders.
“We have also developed a guidance module for these four subjects using a simple yet suitable approach that matches the capabilities of students.”
Anis said publishers are promptly informed of factual inaccuracies or outdated information to ensure the accuracy and relevance of textbook content.
“The corrections are then uploaded and made accessible via the Quick Response Code found on the textbook cover.
“These updates are also incorporated into reprinted books and digital textbooks.”
She said the ministry has also embarked on developing a new concept of future textbooks, which serves as a springboard for aligning new textbooks with global changes.
The move is expected to help ensure the relevance of textbooks, in line with the latest technological advancements and trends.
“The curriculum needs to adapt to the demands of globalisation, liberalisation and the advancement of information and communication technology in today’s world.
“Whenever the curriculum undergoes a transformation or modification, the corresponding textbooks are revised to align with the updated educational framework,” she said.
Anis added that the ministry is empowering the integration of technology in teaching by focusing on increasing digital education capabilities in schools.
“We established the Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia (DELIMa) platform as a comprehensive one-stop resource centre for educational materials, including digital content that complements and enhances textbook material.
“The platform is continuously upgraded with new features to improve user experience, data analytics capabilities, content and personalised learning.”
She said DELIMa also expands opportunities for students to learn actively and collaboratively with other students.
Based on DELIMa’s usage data on May 6, a total of 445,887 teachers, lecturers, education officer trainee teachers and 4.4 million students use the platform.
She said the ministry is committed to engaging the perspectives of parents to enhance future textbook publications.
“The ministry welcomes feedback from various parties and strives to enhance the implementation of the curriculum.
“We conducted a survey through the 2027 School Curriculum Framework to solicit input from all segments of society from Aug 25 to Sept 15.
“This engagement will gather input and views from a diverse range of stakeholders, particularly through selected parent-teacher associations.”
Anis added that the ministry consistently seeks opinions and engages directly with representatives of teachers and lecturers to collaborate on generating ideas for improving the quality of textbooks.
“These educators participate in panels that help formulate textbook writing guides and serve on Textbook Technical Assessment Committee panels to review and verify the suitability of materials for Malaysian students and ensure factual accuracy.”
