MALAYSIA WANTS TO ENHANCE EDUCATION TIES WITH SOUTH KOREA

From Nurul Afida Kamaludin

SEOUL, July 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia wants to further enhance ties in the
field of education with South Korea, particularly in the use of ICT in teaching
and learning process, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.

He said Malaysia was also keen on collaborating with South Korea in
curriculum
development, teacher's training, vocational and technical as well as sports
development in school.

Muhyiddin conveyed Malaysia's interest in these fields when he called on
South
Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan here on Wednesday.

Towards this end, Muhyiddin, who is the Education Minister, said a
memorandum
of understanding on education would be signed by officers of both countries
soon.

"We hope that the memorandum can be finalised before the visit by the
President
of South Korean to Malaysia at the end of this year. It will be a landmark
agreement for both countries," he told a news conference with Malaysian
journalists here.

Muhyiddin is on a four-day visit to South Korea until Thursday.

Muhyiddin said Chung welcomed Malaysia's interest and expressed South
Korea's willingness to share its experience in these fields.

Muhyiddin also said that the visit enabled him to gain input on South
Korea's
National Education Information System (NEIS), an ICT network connecting all
schools in this country.

He said he was impressed with the NEIS which allowed parents to monitor
their
children's progress in school and to get in touch with teachers through the
Internet.

The NEIS is developed by the Korean Education and Research Information
Service,
an agency under the republic's Education, Science and Technology Ministry.

Muhyiddin said he had also conveyed Malaysia's appreciation to South Korea
for
allowing Malaysian students, numbering about 60 a year, to pursue engineering
courses in this country under the Look East Policy.


South Korea also provided scholarships to top Malaysian students and had
opened the opportunities for them to pursue master's degree and PhD, he said.

Some 800 Malaysian students graduated from South Korean universities so far.

Muhyiddin said South Korea could also send its students to pursue English
language studies in Malaysia.

There are about 3,000 South Korean students in Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA



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