ABU DHABI: Malaysia will consider emulating Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ACTVET), which enrols pupils as young as 11.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said unlike ACTVET, the education system in Malaysia only allowed students to choose the TVET pathway at age 16.
ACTVET, he said, would expose pupils to new fields, such as Artificial Intelligence, electric vehicles (EV), the Internet of Things and robotics at a young age.
"ACTVET starts their students at 11 as they are confident that an early exposure will pique students interest in those fields and their skills and standards are recognised globally.
"Their excellence mirrors our aspirations for MTVET in Malaysia as we aim to develop a high quality TVET system that not only equip students with practical skills but builds their confidence and sense of pride.
"However, this effort needs the joint commitment by the government, the Education and Higher Education ministries as well as parents, who we want to change their perspectives, into making TVET the first choice for their children.
"It is now premature for us to give a commitment to this. It needs to be studied first as I do not want to shake up our existing education eco-system," he said.
Zahid, who is on his inaugural seven-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), had on Thursday visited ACTVET, where he met with its director-general Mubarak Saeed Al Shamsi.
Zahid said Malaysia had partnered with ACTVET for more than 15 years, where the exchange of students and skills had built a solid foundation for both countries' TVET systems.
"Malaysia is particularly keen to learn from ACTVET's expertise in EV training as we work towards advancing this sector in our TVET curriculum.
"We look forward to deepening our partnership with ACTVET through joint training programmes, skill competitions and knowledge exchange.
"These insights will be invaluable as we aim for Malaysia's TVET system to be a source of national pride, resilience and global competitiveness," he said.