Answer for Oral Question PL094

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Awang Abdul Aziz bin Haji Hamdan

YANG BERHORMAT AWANG ABDUL AZIZ BIN HAJI HAMDAN requested MENTERI PENDIDIKAN to state how the national education curriculum is being adapted to meet the requirements of digital automation skills and future technologies.

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri Pendidikan

The Ministry of Education has taken proactive steps by establishing the STEAM Education and Skills (SES) Committee, which aims to promote the importance of developing STEAM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) as the foundation for producing human capital to support economic growth. This curriculum adaptation is implemented through three main approaches to ensure that students in Negara Brunei Darussalam are "future-ready":

i. STEAM in the Curriculum: The Ministry has updated the policy on the distribution of subjects at the secondary level, whereby the fields of Arts and Technology are now made core subjects. These include subjects such as Computer Science, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Design and Technology (D&T), Food and Nutrition, Agriculture, and Art and Design.

ii. STEAM Across the Curriculum: The integration of the 6C competencies is incorporated into the teaching and learning process for all subjects. These competencies comprise Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Character, and Citizenship.

iii. STEAM Across Co-curricular Activities: The strengthening of digital and technological skills through activities outside the classroom coordinated by Pusat STEP and Pusat Keusahawanan Inovasi (EIC).

To support this curriculum change, the Ministry of Education's Digital Transformation Plan (DTP) has provided the necessary infrastructure through the Smart Classroom and Learning Management System (LMS) initiatives. Alhamdulillah, through the Smart Classroom project, the Ministry has equipped 30 schools with Interactive Panels and Chromebook devices, while another four schools are in the process of implementation. For the next phase, the Ministry is targeting the provision of these facilities to a further 34 schools to ensure wider access to technology.

In addition, students' digital literacy standards are now assessed through the Digital Literacy Standards, which are embedded in the curriculum, as well as through the innovative "Learning in a Digital World" domain in the international PISA 2025 study.

The Ministry is currently undertaking the development of new core modules for all higher education institutions aimed at equipping students with the skills required in the future, or future skills, and cultivating a future-ready mindset among local graduates. These core modules comprise two areas, namely new technologies (emerging technologies) and sustainability (sustainability), which will strengthen foundational knowledge and practical skills in emerging technological fields such as Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, as well as the ethics of using new technologies, and sustainability (sustainability) areas such as environmental science, green innovation and climate change.

Through this approach, students are not only taught theory; through hands-on projects and problem-based learning (Problem-Based Learning), they are trained to become opportunity creators capable of achieving high employability, in line with Wawasan Brunei 2035.