Moderator

: A very good evening to all. We are back again in Voice of Us

with another rising issue in the development in the world of
education. Today, our topic will be Equity in Education across
the Nation: The Urban-Rural gap where we will talk about the
differences between the urban area and the rural area in terms
of equity. Today with me, I have the Minister of Education, Dato
Salihah bt Mohd Rusdi, who has been involved with the shaping
of the Malaysian Education Blueprint. How are you today, Dato?

Moderator

: Im glad to hear that. Next to her, we have a school teacher,

Puan Nur Shamimi bt Mohd Azmi. Puan Shamimi here has been
in the teaching business for over 15 years and has taught the
rural area for more than 10 years and had transferred into the
city a few years back. How are you and how are adapting, Puan
Shamimi?

Moderator:

:Thats intriguing. By her side is Puan Siti Sarah Mohd Marzuki,

the head of Parents and Teacher Association, SK. Pos Musoh,
Perak. How are things looking for you, Puan Sarah?

Moderator

: I hope so too. Now that we know our panelists, lets begin our
talk, shall we? We know that our curriculum faced a major
transformation. One of the focuses is equity in education. Dato,
could you please explain more about it?

Moderator

: Thank you, Dato. Now, Puan Shamimi, you have been in this
profession for almost 15 years. Out of those 15 years, you spent
10 years teaching in the rural areas. Afterwards, you transferred
to a school with a completely different environment, here in the
city. You must have quite an insight on the urban-rural gap that
Dato Salihah had mentioned beforehand. As a teacher who has
been in both areas, exactly how big is the gap between the
urban and rural areas and what are the prominent problems in
education faced by the pupils, in terms of equity?

Moderator

: The target is 50% reduction in achievement gaps (urban-rural)

by 2020. It is 2016, were entering the second wave and they
are still gaps we need to cover. However, SK Pos Musoh
Landing Zone, Perak, an Orang Asli school, has achieved the
best results for Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in
the category of Orang Asli Schools. So, Puan Sarah, as the
Head of Parents and Teachers Association of SK Pos Musuh
Landing Zone, do you think these gaps are possible to narrow to
50%? Why do you think we still have this big gap between rural
and urban schools?

Moderator:

Now that we have heard the panelist, I must ask, Dato Salihah.
What have the government done in achieving equity in education
especially in terms of bridging the gap between urban and rural
schools?

Moderator

: I see. It takes time to make a change, doesnt it? We have

already started to change when our Ministry of Education had
taken the actions of revamping our education system in 2013
and

collaboration

with

everyone;

teachers,

parents,

administrators, stakeholders, society. So what is the next step for

us to achieve equity is education? What are the measures or
suggestions for short and long term in achieving equity in
education? Would you like to respond first, Dato ?
Moderator

: I see. What do you think, Puan Shamimi. How should we

narrow this gap?

Moderator:

How are your insights, regarding this, Puan Sarah?

Moderator

: Thank you for the insights. We have heard the measures taken
in order to narrow the wide gap between the urban and rural
areas. Next, I open the session to the floor for any questions.

Moderator:

That wraps up our session then. Thank you to our three

panelists for being here with us today. Signing off, Im Afiqah,
have a lovely day