Tag: Education

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The STS forum, a non-profit organisation will hold its 18th Annual Meeting from Oct 2 to 5, which will be LIVE ONLINE from Kyoto, Japan.

World leaders, including professional scientists, policymakers and business leaders, will gather online to discuss the pressing science and technology issues the world is facing and to build an international network.

The forum will host 20 sessions online this year. Some examples of the topics are ‘Global Pandemic–Lessons Learned and Forecast’; ‘Green Recovery for Sustainable Society’; ‘Disruptive Technologies for Industries’; and, ‘The Second Quantum Revolution and Society’.

According to a statement, more than 100 distinguished speakers have confirmed their online presence.

Among others, Policymakers: Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner, European Commission, EU; Laksana Tri Handoko, Chairman, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia; Helen Elizabeth Clark, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Business leaders: Nathan Myhrvold, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Intellectual Ventures, U.S.A.; Terry Brady, President and CEO, Underwriters Laboratories Inc, U.S.A.; and, Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter, Chief Technology Officer, Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Saudi Arabia.

Academia: Anthony S. Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, U.S.A.; George Fu Gao, Director-General, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China; and, Gerald H. Haug, President, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany.

International organisation/media: Seth Berkley, CEO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief, Nature, U.K.; and, Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief, Science, U.S.A.

Invitation requests can be submitted from https://www.stsforum.org/kyoto2021/ or more details available at https://www.stsforum.org/

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MELAKA, Sept 16 — Oratist Abdul Malik Mohamad Shah did not let a virtual oratory competition stand in his way of delivering a strong performance to win not one but three awards at the national-level Yang Dipertua Negeri of Melaka Cup oratory competition (PPRN) with the theme “Rukun Negara as a Principle of Unity for the Success and Stability of the People”.

The Bahasa Malaysia teacher impressed the judges with his eloquence and valid arguments to be crowned winner of the final round of the public speaking competition held online at Seri Negeri, here, today.

The Malaysia Day celebration today was even more momentous for Abdul Malik when earlier he walked away with the competition’s Public category as well as Best Orator, thus beating 25 finalists from the five competing categories.

Clad in a red Baju Melayu, complete with headgear, Abdul Malik took home a cash prize of RM5,000 and a trophy among others after beating Zaid Mohd Roslan Ahmad Burhan of Melaka and Terengganu’s Sidaqi A. Rahim.

Zaid took second spot in the Public category and won the Best Speech award.

Meanwhile, displaying fluency in Malay and in an understated style, P. Selvi emerged champion in the non-Malay category. She highlighted the idea of harmony in society to carry her to her win.

The Melakan, who works as a part-time tutor, took home RM3,000 in cash after beating Haw Wai Kiat from Selangor and GT Shagaan from Negeri Sembilan into second and third places respectively, and she also won the Special Jury Award for Best Dress (non-Malays).

The youngest participant, Hayfa Adni Nasarudin topped the Primary School category triumphing over second-placed Ramadhani Noor Mohamad and Nur Wadah Mohd Adli (third place).

Hayfa Adni, a student of Sekolah Kebangsaan Jerantut, Pahang, took home a RM1,000 cash prize among others.

Meanwhile, the Secondary School category was won by Aiena Batrisya Sulaiman from Tunku Kurshiah College, Negeri Sembilan who won a RM1,500 cash prize along with an accompanying trophy, among others besides winning the Special Jury Award for Best Speech.

Aiena, who was attired in traditional dress, defeated Najihah Kasim from Sekolah Menengah (SM) Sains Muzaffar Syah, Melaka, and Della Wong Shuen Tze from SM Jenis Kebangsaan Ken Wha, Sabah.

Meanwhile, International Islamic University Malaysia student, Khairul Aizat Yusoff emerged champion in the Higher Education Institution category when he defeated Muhammad Khair Aiman Khairul Azhar from Temenggong Ibrahim Teachers’ Training Institute, Johor and Nurul Hikmah Rumaini from Universiti Teknologi Mara Sarawak.

A total of 970 entries for five categories were received for the competition.

The hybrid competition was officiated by the Yang Dipertua Negeri Melaka, Tun Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam. Also present was Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — The Education Ministry (MOE) explained today that schools nationwide will reopen in stages according to the phases of the National Recovery Plan (PPN).

Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said that schools in Phase One states of the PPN would not reopen.

He clarified the matter as the ministry found that there were still some who mistakenly thought that all schools nationwide would reopen on Oct 3, although details of the reopening were explained yesterday.

Radzi said the findings were identified based on his observation of the feedback shared on various platforms, including social media, about his announcement of school re-openings yesterday.

“From the feedback we received directly or through media, including social media, we found that there are still some who think that come Oct 3, all schools in the country will reopen,” he said in a video recording that was shared with the media today to explain the way schools would operate.

Radzi also said that for states in Phase Two of the PPN, only primary schools with special needs pupils at Special Needs Public Schools (SKPK) and Integrated Special Education Programmes (PPKI) would reopen, while for secondary schools, only Form 6 students in Semester 2 who will be sitting for their Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations at the end of October will be involved.

“For states under Phase Three of the PPN, apart from special needs pupils at SKPK and PPKI, pre-school pupils, Form Five students and other STPM students will be involved.

“For states under Phase Four of the PPN, the first two weeks, from Oct 3 to 17, will involve similar students as those in Phase Three states, before it is expanded to Year One, Two and Three students from Oct 17 to 31, followed by Year Four, Five and Six (at the end of October),” he said.

For secondary schools, Radzi said learning sessions will begin with Form Five and Form Six students from Oct 3 to 17, followed in stages by Form Three, Four, One and Two students.

He said the reopening, to be done in stages at 50 per cent classroom capacity, was to ensure students could follow their studies closely in schools, and also attend school in a safe environment.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 12 — Schools will reopen in stages from Oct 3 according to the phases of states under the National Recovery Plan (PPN), Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Radzi Jidin said.

In a media conference to announce the reopening of schools today, Radzi, who is also a senior minister, said the 2021 schooling session will be extended to March 2022 so that intervention among weak students can be carried out on the grounds that they have not attended classes for some time.

In addition, he said students will take turns to attend school, with attendance set at 50 per cent of the classroom capacity to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Radzi said all schools in Phase One of PPN, however, will remain closed and their students will continue with home-based teaching and learning (PdPR).

As for Phase Two states, special needs students will be allowed to attend school without any rotation while primary pupils will continue with PdPR.

He said for secondary students in Phase Two, only Form Six second semester students, third semester students of Sports Schools pre-university programmes and those taking international examinations will be allowed to attend school.

As for states in Phase 3 of the PPN, the reopening of schools will also include preschool and private kindergarten pupils without rotation, while for secondary schools, it will involve full boarding school students sitting for public examinations (without rotation) and daily or private schools sitting for public examinations (rotation), Radzi said.

For states in Phase 4, he said Years One, Two, Three will attend school on a rotational basis from Oct 17 onwards, he added, while Years Four, Five and Six will do the same, also on rotation, from Oct 31.

“Also beginning Oct 17, public examination classes, Form Three and Form Four students in full boarding schools will be allowed to attend classes on a rotational basis, while those in Forms One, Two and Three in daily and private schools will attend on a rotational basis. Form One and Form Two will continue with PdPR,” he said.

On vocational schools, Radzi said schooling will first resume with Phase two states and onwards on rotation according to the examinations they are sitting for and semesters they are in.

He also said that Institutes of Teacher Education (IPG) and Matriculation College students in Phase One and Two will continue PdPR, while those in Phases Three and Four who have been fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine will be given the choice to attend campus while those unvaccinated will continue with PdPR.

In addition, Radzi central region private education institutes (IPS) in Phase One and Phase Two states will operate via PdPR while for pupils aged four to six in Phase Three, classes will operate fully while other classes will operate on rotation with a 50 per cent class capacity

For Phase Four students, class capacity is increased to 70 per cent, also on rotation, from Oct 17 while full capacity with physical distancing will be allowed from Oct 31.

He said that the reopening of schools in areas that have been classified as travel bubbles will follow Phase Four operations.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— Malaysia has yet to decide to go ahead with COVID-19 vaccination exercise for children below 12 years old, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“There has been no approval for paediatric vaccination yet in Malaysia or anywhere else. It’s still under review by regulatory agencies, whether it be Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the National Health Control Authority (NHRA).

“Once there is enough data to support that it is safe to give out to children, then we will take that to the vaccination committee for consideration and for us to decide,” he told a news conference providing COVID-19 updates here today.

According to him, vaccine manufacturer Pfizer-BioNTech was in the midst of producing a COVID-19 vaccine for children, and it would have a different dosage from adults.

Khairy said with no approved vaccination for those 12 years old and below, vaccinating the adult population at school would be the best way to keep it safe for children who had not been vaccinated.

Khairy said the Heath Ministry was also considering making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory in order to address the issue among anti-vaxxers.

For the time being, however, he said the Government maintained its stance it was not going to legally mandate vaccines as mandatory.

“I’ve not come to the stage where I would recommend to the Cabinet a federal mandate but I’m not far from it either,” he said.

He added that a new policy on testing for COVID-19 would soon be implemented for those who refused to get vaccinated for non-medical reasons.

Under this policy, a person would need to test themselves with a COVID-19 test kit regularly to ensure they were free from the virus.

“Once we go into an endemic phase, whether you have been vaccinated or not, you need to test yourself quite regularly.

“Those who refused to get vaccinated will have a certain schedule or regime of testing that they would have to adhere to.

“Whether it is rapid test kits and if that (result) is positive, will be confirmed through a PCR test,” he said.

In line with this, Khairy said the government in today’s Cabinet meeting had agreed to set a ceiling price for the COVID-19 self-test kits.

He said the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi would make an announcement on the matter soon.

There are currently 11 brands of COVID-19 self-test kits that have been granted conditional approval by the Health Ministry for public use.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— The findings from studies carried out by the Institute of Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) 2020 and the Youth Data Hub, play a role in ensuring that the direction of the country’s youth is on the right track, said Deputy Youth and Sports Minister, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal.

He said that these five findings are the Malaysian Youth Landscape; Malaysian Youth Index Perspective; Malaysian Sports Culture Trends during the COVID-19 Pandemic; the Inability of Youth to Compete in the Economic Sector; Upskilling and Reskilling Study for Better Employment Opportunities among Youth and National Youth Aspirations.

“Through these findings, Malaysia can formulate and plan the best formula in producing a future generation who are capable of governing the country with a strong identity, thus making Malaysia a developed and prosperous country in the future,” he said in a statement.

The findings were presented in a public dialogue session ‘Town Hall IYRES 2021’ online via Zoom webinar and Facebook Live @IYRESKBS today.

Themed “National Youth Landscape and Aspirations’, this second edition was organised by IYRES and Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), to serve as a platform for disseminating findings from studies conducted by Youth Data Hub and IYRES to stakeholders under youth development, to be used as input to design programmes or activities to meet current youth needs.

In addition, IYRES and KBS have also developed the Youth Data Hub to facilitate access to information among youth development stakeholders through a focused platform.

This data hub is the main information gateway that contains four systems, namely Statistics Hub (Ydata@IYRES system), Youth Profile Hub (National Youth Profile System), Monitoring Hub (e-MYInd system) and Analytics Hub (data science and data analytics system).

The public dialogue webinar session today, which boasted almost 400 participants, was also attended by IYRES chief executive officer, Dr P. Vellapandian; KBS deputy secretary-general (Strategy), Ramona Mohd Razali and KBS deputy secretary-general (Management), Abdullah Hasan.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Being a volunteer at a vaccination centre (PPV) is likened to killing two birds with one stone for Siti Nurhikmah Razlan, because apart from helping to boost her confidence in front of strangers, the social service job gives her self-satisfaction.

Siti Nurhikmah, 23, is a person with disability (PwD). Visually impaired in one eye since birth, she said that the desire to serve in this COVID-19 pandemic situation caused her to always look out for opportunities at any PPV, before being informed that the PPV Dewan Jubli Perak Sultan Ahmad Shah, here, was looking for volunteers.

The eldest of two siblings, she is grateful to her father, Razlan Ramli, 46, and mother Diana Hussin, 44, for their support by allowing her the use of their car to get to the PPV, which is located about 20 kilometres from their house in Balok Perdana, here.

“Since childhood, my father has kept reminding me not to feel inferior to others. In fact, he often took me to welfare or community programmes related to his work in the navy, which may have served as training grounds for me to be more self-confident.

“Interest in volunteer work may also have arisen because I used to follow my father around a lot (on his work-related matters), making me realise that my lack (disability) is not an obstacle to anything you are passionate about,” she told Bernama when met on her first day of duty at the PPV, today.

Siti Nurhikmah, a Bachelor of Office System Management student at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Puncak Alam, Selangor, said that there are some people who have the habit of staring into her eyes. Uncomfortable as it may be, she dismisses their actions as just curiosity.

Talking more about her job as a volunteer, Siti Nurhikmah said she will work until September before undergoing industrial training to complete her study requirements. Among her roles at the PPV is to manage the registration of vaccine recipients and give out instructions (about the process).

According to her, meeting with various sections of the community at the PPV helps her to improve her communication skills, one of the main requirements when she enters the working world in her field later.

“Now I don’t have to attend lectures online because it’s almost the end of the semester but I just have to complete the assignments given by the lecturers, which I do in the evening as my daytime is spent at the PPV,” she added.

Siti Nurhikmah also hopes that more young people will become volunteers as a sign of participation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency