Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has reaffirmed that the Education Ministry (MoE) has long upheld strong transparency practices, including independent evaluations, to ensure its policies are effective and free from any concealment of failures.
In a written parliamentary reply, she said all MoE policies undergo rigorous checks and balances through internal and external monitoring, assessments and regular reporting.
“MoE has always prioritised transparency and accountability in every aspect of national education policy implementation.
“To ensure our policies remain effective, the ministry applies a comprehensive check-and-balance mechanism through internal monitoring, evaluation and reporting, supported by independent external parties,” she said.
Fadhlina explained that external assessments are carried out by academic bodies, universities, NGOs and international organisations such as Suhakam, the World Bank and UNESCO.
She was responding to Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (PN–Langkawi), who questioned why no outside assessment had been conducted on MoE policies and whether this could lead to “cover-ups” of policy failures.
Fadhlina said the ministry also commissions various high-impact studies to gather data, analyse trends and address issues for accurate policy recommendations, including research on English proficiency under the MBMMBI policy and classroom-based assessment in primary schools.
“These findings are presented periodically to MoE’s top management to ensure timely follow-up,” she said.
She added that the ministry also conducts mid-term reviews for long-term plans. One example is the mid-term review of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025, which measured progress across 11 policy shifts and highlighted key challenges such as the urban-rural achievement gap, teacher workload and assessment effectiveness. The review also proposed improvements in areas like digitalisation, strengthening TVET and expanding school autonomy.
Regarding development projects, Fadhlina said the MoE enforces structured reporting, including twice-monthly development expenditure updates and progress reports from district offices up to the ministry’s Development Division.
Monitoring is further supported by the Education Institution Development Project Monitoring Portal, which includes site inspections and reporting on physical projects such as new school construction.
She added that the ministry’s Internal Audit Unit prepares annual audit reports covering financial performance, contract management and project quality, including the upgrading of classrooms into Design and Technology workshops.
“These mechanisms show that policy and development projects are continuously monitored, evaluated and improved with input from multiple stakeholders, ensuring transparency and the effectiveness of national education policies,” she said.
