KUALA LUMPUR: The government is committed to improving the quality of education by focusing on talent development and strengthening the cultivation of lifelong learning.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad said under the 12th Malaysia Plan, cultivating and implementing lifelong learning would focus on developing and improving innovative programmes.
"This is to ensure that more educational opportunities are available to the people to improve their quality of life," said Noraini at the Malaysian Qualifications Agency's Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) Open Day and launch of APEL.Q at KL Sentral.
She said since it was introduced on Sept 1, 2011, APEL had provided an alternative route for individuals who had no academic qualifications to continue their studies at higher educational institutions.
"APEL also allows students to make credit transfers to complete their studies in a shorter period.
"We set the standards and the individuals have to complete a capstone course, which requires them to prepare a dissertation prior to being assessed in order to be awarded a diploma, degree, master's or even doctoral degree," she said, adding that APEL had benefitted 26,000 people.
Noraini hoped that MQA's efforts in promoting lifelong learning would provide more significant opportunities for the public to access higher education in line with the ministry's 2015-2025 development plan.
"APEL will support the national agenda of developing talent and highly skilled workers.
"This initiative will attract more Malaysians to return home to continue their studies and also make Malaysia the destination of choice to pursue higher education," said Noraini, an APEL beneficiary herself.
She said the six institutions of higher learning that had received MQA's approval to implement APEL.Q were Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Open University Malaysia, Asia University, HELP University and SEGi University.
Meanwhile, MQA chief executive officer Professor Datuk Dr Mohammad Shatar Sabran said APEL.Q prevented repetitive learning and reduced the cost of education.
