Bandar Seri Begawan - Sixteen malay medium teachers from the West II Cluster School, Singapore are currently in the country for a visit. One of the educational institution that the group visited yesterday was the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education (SHBIE), University Brunei Darussalam.
The group was led by Puan Suriana binti Mohd Bakri and accompanied by the Principal of Kranji Primary school in Singapore, Mr Sam Wong Poo Mun.
Deputy Dean (Administration, Research and Development) of SHBIE Hajah Jamilah binti Haji Mohd Yusof and Brunei Study Academy Officials Hj Mohd Rafee and its Head of Department Language Education Pg Hajah Rohaniah welcomed the visitors.
Puan Suriana disclosed that the objectives of their visit was to enable the W2 Cluster School key personnel to study success factors in implementing cultural and Malay Language Programmes for schools.
In line with MOE ML Arif Budiman vision, the infusion and exposure of cultural elements in Brunei schools curriculum will enable the participants in the visit to learn and adopt in their own schools.
The visit is to also seek better understanding of Malay heritage in ASEAN and to network with the school leaders and teachers in Brunei in creating learning opportunities and the participants will share their ICT programmes with their Brunei counterparts.
The rationale of the visit of choosing to visit schools, Ministry of Education, University Brunei Darussalam, Institute of Education, Malay Teachers Federation and Language and Literature Bureau is because the schools in Brunei have good immersion programmes such as cultural, heritage and language in their curriculum.
The visits are in line with the W2 Cluster thrust to enhance quality learning of staff and students and for them to study the infusion and exposure of the Malay language and culture of schools here and transfer the knowledge gained to their W2 Cluster and local schools.
Expected benefits of the visit includes networking and establishing of links for future collaborative partnerships with the schools and organisations visited, widening their horizon to the scope of programmes that can be implemented in their schools.
It also give them the opportunity to learn from the school leaders and teachers in Brunei and amongst themselves, building teamwork, cooperation and camaraderie among themselves, as well as transferring knowledge gained to the W2 Cluster and local schools through sharing sessions. (By RDN)
Source: www.brunei-online.com (June 8, 2008)
