News and Opportunities
Malaysia childcare webinar provides insights
06 Aug 2012
Three panellists at a recent Austrade webinar on Early Child Care Education in Malaysia provided insights on the current directions and developments in this sector, earmarked under the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAS) in Malaysia’s National Transformation Plan (NTP).
The panel comprised the Director for Education Strategies from the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) of the Prime Minister’s Department, and two private sector representatives that are in partnership in this national initiative. SEGi Education Group was selected by the government to drive this initiative. SEGi University College, an institution within the group, has a long-established school in education and early childcare education.
The group initiated a consortium of other private providers to assist in the various projects outlined under this initiative. The third panellist is a representative from this consortium and is from REAL Group (Result Enhancing through Active Learning), which had the largest number of childcare and preschool centres nationwide and is well established in ECCE.
The webinar discussed opportunities for collaborations and expertise in ECCE are in the following areas:
- quality childcare and preschool education services
- early childhood resources and publications
- training and professional development programs
- postgraduate programs for staff and students
- consultancy
- collaborative research in early childhood education and special education.
PEMANDU is keen to meet experts to discuss successful operational models in childcare and special education. The drive is to make special education and quality childcare services affordable to lower income groups. A consistent framework and notching up the percentage of trained and certified staff in ECCE are considered key steps towards this outcome. Institutions with capacities and expertise in ECCE areas should contact the panel members to progress interests in collaborations.
For more information, contact Ms Amy Gonsalviz, Education Manager, Austrade Kuala Lumpur.
The webinar is now available as a video in four parts.