The Ministry of Education (MoE) is simultaneously developing a digital literacy standard to provide the latest and relevant curriculum to deliver competency and skills required for 21st Century students, and Entrepreneurship Innovation Centre (EIC) to enhance entrepreneurial skills and innovation among students, said Minister of Education Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah Sulaiman.
During a dialogue with Legislative Council (LegCo) members at the MoE yesterday.
He said the ministry is also focussing on the development of teachers’ capacity to cope with the shift to digital teaching.
The minister said, “Through the Brunei Darussalam Leaders and Teachers Academy (BDLTA), several professional development initiatives, such as the Technology Enhanced Learning Environment (TELE), have been introduced to increase teachers’ digital readiness, mainly on teachers’ ability to teach online and the delivery of 21st Century curriculum.
"The Teachers’ Lounge and the School Leaders’ Lounge, virtual platform for teachers and school leaders to share and access the latest initiatives, digital resources and best practices in education were introduced in 2020.”
All these initiatives are in line with one of the strategic objectives in the MoE’s Strategic Plan 2018-2022, which is to transform its human resource into a performance-driven culture.
Speaking on teaching and learning during the pandemic, the minister shared some initiatives to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in education.
These include the implementation of the business continuity plan (BCP) for schools and the MoE, the supply of sanitising products and equipment to public schools, provision of home based learning (HBL) through online platforms as well as the home learning pack (HLP) and educational television programmes in collaboration with Radio Television Brunei (RTB).
Various initiatives were also taken to address technological needs of students done by working closely with the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC), Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) and private telecommunications companies in providing devices and access to the Internet, especially among underprivileged students, the minister said.
The MoE established the Educational Technology Centre (EDTech) to support the use of technology in teaching and learning, in an effort to produce digitally literate students.
Dato Seri Setia Awang Hamzah also shared that facility management introduced at the ministry in 2019, has now been extended to all primary, secondary and sixth form centres as well as other offices in the four districts to ensure smooth, conducive and safe teaching and learning environment.