Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Dato Muhyiddin Yassin, in his message during the ECCE Council launch on 18 August 2011 reiterated the need for ”caregivers and preschool teachers to be nurturing, knowledgeable, skilled and openminded in order to become educators with calibre.” Existing training was not enough to produce qualified preschool educators of world-class standards as the skills, effectiveness and functions of these teachers would improve as they gained higher education.
“The more knowledge that the teachers have, the more skilled will they be, and their functions as educators in the children’s formative and critical years will be more effective in the children’s development.” Citing an example, he said Russia had long given recognition to preschool education and their teaching manpower had doctorate qualifications or at least a master’s degree. “This should be taken as an inspiration and a benchmark,” he said.
In2011, the Education Ministry allocated RM20.5 million to train 7,420 early childhood educators.
For more reports on the launch:
http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/51569
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Raisingthebartocreatetop-classkindies/Mobile/article_html
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/rm20.5m-to-train-early-childhood-educators/
