To be totally clear, I am not saying any of the above points. It is coming from the critics out there. The reality is that this is one of the transformation blues that is difficult to dispel not least because it takes time to get results in education, but also because stereotype views are almost impossible to overcome.

Yes, there are deficiencies in our education system – we recognise that. We often won’t be able to fix these overnight but rest assured, we are taking concrete steps to deal with each and every one of them. Importantly, we are putting in place data collecting systems and cross-checking information through independent sources to ensure data integrity without which it will be difficult to make meaningful progress.

Over the past 50 years, Malaysia has seen its adult literacy rate grow to 92%, achieved universal primary enrolment and now have some of the fastest growth rates in secondary school enrolment.

To put things in perspective, let me make it clear that there has been tremendous progress in education, and there are urgent problems that we need to tackle. So, what are some of the measures we are taking to put our education in order?

Over the past 50 years, we have seen the adult literacy rate grow to 92%, achieved universal primary enrolment and now have some of the fastest growth rates in secondary school enrolment. These are real achievements we can be proud of but of course we can and must do more.

There are gaps in our education system which we must address. Under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), we ranked 52nd for science, 57th for mathematics and 44th for reading – out of 74 countries – in 2010. Rankings we must aspire to improve on.

(PISA basically surveys 15-year olds in participating countries to assess the extent to which they have acquired the knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society. This is done every three years.)

We certainly want to do far better than what the reports indicate and are doing all we can to improve.

The Performance Management and Delivery Unit, together with the Education Ministry, has launched educational initiatives to both “close the gap” and “raise the bar” in education. One of the major moves initiated is to improve access to quality early childhood education.

This is based on the premise that most of those entering schools already have a basic knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic. Without these basics, these children start their education journey, at a disadvantage.

This Early Child Care Education programme is a key part of our efforts to put all students entering the education system on par right from the start and will help to redress imbalances caused by disparities in socio-economic standing. We are focusing on increasing pre-school enrolment to 87% (77% in 2011, just short of the 80% target) and eventually make it universal. We built 3,089 pre-school classes in 2011, exceeding our target of 2,755 by 12%. In addition, 6,421 private pre-school teachers were trained by public and private higher-education institutions last year.

We are also increasing opportunities for all to be fully literate and numerate through various programmes such as literacy and numeracy screening for primary one, two and three students. Through this initiative, we are increasing the literacy and numeracy of our students and we have exceeded targets that we have set ourselves. By 2012, we are targeting 100% literacy and numeracy among primary three students (excluding special needs children).

To raise the bar further, we are ranking all schools and identifying high performing schools. We have new performance-based assessments for head teachers to innovate, improve upon and deliver high performance.

We have put in place a school improvement programme since April 2010 to push lower performing primary and secondary schools into higher bands. By the end of 2011, 52 schools have been awarded high-performing status against our target of 50 schools. All 9,900 schools in the country have been ranked. There has been a 40% reduction of schools in bands six and seven, the lowest ones, while there has been increase of over a fifth in the top bands one and two between 2009 and 2010.

All these are real achievements which we continue to chalk up even as we continue on the path of improving our overall education system further.

From this year, we are shifting the focus to improving quality as well as improving access to the overall education system. We have launched 15 new initiatives under the teacher quality improvement key performance indicators to improve teaching quality.

In the meantime, the Education Ministry has commissioned a comprehensive review of the education system which is being undertaken by an external panel of industry and academic leaders. This will be unveiled later this year. Even as you read this column, the Education Lab under the GTP 2.0 is planning what we need to do in 2013 and beyond. Some of the initiatives will build on what we have done so far, while others will be new ones.

Regardless, all the initiatives will be focused on producing the right outcomes. All these results and initiatives reflect the Government’s recognition of education as a key area and its concern that the quality and reach should be further enhanced to ensure that every Malaysian has access to a good, wholesome and affordable education system which will enable them to actualise their full potential.

Yes, there is a lot of work to be done, there is no denying that. But at the end of the day, it is work that can only be fully accomplished by everyone’s participation, not just the Government.

Despite all that talk about deficiencies in our education system, there are sufficient opportunities for anyone who wants to take it. We must have the conviction to take advantage of those opportunities already in the system. We must participate in the education process. The more we actively participate in it, the better chances we have of improving it. Let’s all do our part.

·Datuk Seri Idris Jala is chief executive officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. Fair and reasonable comments are most welcome at idrisjala@pemandu.gov.my.