Kuala lumpur: Malaysia's performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 has highlighted notable strengths in its education system, particularly in fostering curiosity, perseverance, self-directed learning, and computational thinking among students. Andreas Schleicher, the Education and Skills director at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), emphasized these achievements in a video address regarding Malaysia's outcomes in this international assessment.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Schleicher praised Malaysian 15-year-olds for their curiosity and perseverance, noting their growing ability to set learning goals, take charge of their learning process, and persist in the face of challenges. He mentioned that Malaysia outperforms many other countries participating in PISA 2025 in these aspects. Schleicher stressed the importance of continuous learning and growth, acknowledging the evolving demands of the world that young people are entering.
The video address was presented at the Ministry of Education's event announcing Malaysia's PISA 2025 performance, attended by Education Minister Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek and senior ministry officials. Schleicher also pointed out Malaysia's success in fostering equity among schools, with only 17 per cent of student performance variation being attributed to differences between schools-lower than the international average. He noted that Malaysia compares favorably with top-performing Singapore in maintaining equity between schools serving diverse communities.
He emphasized that excellence and equity should not be conflicting goals within an education system. Schleicher commended the high levels of teacher support reported by Malaysian students, highlighting the role of educators as coaches and mentors rather than mere transmitters of knowledge. He stressed the positive impact of supportive teachers on student performance and learning outcomes.
Despite these strengths, Schleicher identified areas for improvement, such as the need for greater family support in education. He noted a decline in family support levels since the 2022 assessment and urged attention to this aspect. While acknowledging progress in science and reading, he identified mathematics as a persistent challenge, with classrooms often focusing too heavily on content transmission rather than fostering mathematical thinking.
Schleicher underscored Malaysian students' strength in computational problem-solving, noting their performance in computational thinking surpassed expectations based on mathematics results. However, he cautioned against over-reliance on technology and artificial intelligence, advocating for their role in supporting cognitive effort in learning. He also flagged cyberbullying as a concern, with five per cent of Malaysian students reporting experiences of it, a figure higher than the international average.
In conclusion, Schleicher urged Malaysia to build on its strong educational foundations by enhancing connections between curiosity and knowledge, computational thinking and mathematics, technology and practical learning, schools and families, and excellence and equity. He acknowledged the existing foundations and encouraged Malaysia to continue its progress in these areas.