Hishammuddin Goes To Saudi Arabia To 'Learn' About Gifted Children Programmes

Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein will make a one-week visit to Saudi Arabia from Monday to learn more about the kingdom's educational programmes, particularly those related to producing intelligent children.

He would visit, among others, the "King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for the Gifted" in Riyadh, an entity created by the Saudi government to craft and implement the country's education initiatives.

"The Education Ministry is actively formulating a strategy and develop a modus operandi to produce quality human capital by tapping into the potential of Malaysia's gifted children," said Hishammuddin in a statement.

Hishammuddin and his delegation comprising four ministry officials will also be exploring avenues of cooperation between the two countries that would allow Malaysia to market its expertise in education to Saudi Arabia.

The visit is at the invitation of Saudi Arabia's Education Minister Dr Abdullah Saleh Al-Obaid.

***** Frankly he doesn't have to head that far into the desert to learn. All he has to do is go south to Singapore and he'll be surprised at how comprehensive and developed their programmes are.

Actually it is a good idea to tap 'gifted' children provided we don't exploit them or cause them to 'overheat'. However the authorities have to ensure that they do not succumb to the temptation of imposing racial quotas on the programmes which they plan to implement. Now that's going to be the hard part given our past history.
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