Introduction
Malaysia is one of 93 countries that have pledged to undertake the United Nation’s Agenda 2030. This agenda entails 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that are classified into three dimensions, namely 1) to cultivate economic growth, 2) provide social inclusion, and 3) provide environmental protection. Like other pledgees, Malaysia’s education system and its institutions from pre-school to tertiary level play a pivotal role in instilling the spirit of Sustainable Development (SD) in its citizens to protect the biosphere and wellbeing of mankind from any destruction and disruption due to current global developments. Due to education’s potential to drive individual and societal transformation, the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is implemented in Malaysia’s education system via its two blueprints – Malaysian Education Blueprint (Pre-School to Secondary) and Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint (Tertiary). Briefly, the Malaysian Education Blueprint, currently in the last of the three phases, aims to enhance the quality and equality of education. The objectives and goals of this blueprint are aligned with SDG 2030: high-quality education. This is continued in the Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint which promotes student excellence by addressing fundamental system performance challenges, including quality and efficiency, as well as worldwide developments that alter the Malaysia’s Higher Education. With slightly less than a decade to achieve SDG 2030, it is thus timely to evaluate these blueprints.
Malaysia’s ESD Focused on Environment, Limited Emphasis on Social and Economic Dimensions
The concepts of sustainability and SD should be introduced as early as pre-school level particularly when the early years of children’s lives are critical in their development. Recognizing this importance, Malaysia’s pre-school children as young as 5-6 years old are exposed to the fundamental idea of sustainability as part of Malaysia’s National Pre-school Curriculum Standard. In addition to learning about sustainability during lessons on the protection and preservation of environment, they will be involved in environmental sustainability activities such as planting plants around their school grounds planting trees around their school compound. The social and economic dimensions of sustainability are not introduced at the pre-school level in Malaysia.
At the primary school level, according to the National Primary School Curriculum Standard, ESD is embedded across the subjects to expose students to the importance of sustainability issues. Subjects such as Science and Design and Technology introduce them to the concept of sustainability not only theoretically but also to develop their psychomotor skills. Students practice the 3R concept (Recycle, Reduce and Reuse) by applying this concept in their projects in fulfillment of their subjects. Like the pre-school level, ESD is limited to the environmental dimension.
In the National Secondary School Curriculum Standard, the fundamental idea of sustainability and SD are embedded in various subjects; again confined towards the environment. Further confining ESD is the standalone subject entitled “Fundamental of Sustainability” being offered only to upper secondary levels – Form 4 and Form 5- students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This subject aims to develop students in striving for Green Technologies. Noteworthily, secondary school is an appropriate level to introduce the goals of SDG 2030 since these adolescent students will begin to think about potential careers to pursue.
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), through its ESD, play a critical role in developing proper values, behaviors and characters in their students towards sustainability. This next generation of professionals will not only be vital in achieving SDG 2030 but also ensuring its continuity. Therefore, ESD in the higher education institutions should empower their students to make responsible decisions and actions on issues related to SD. Key to achieving this is a strong commitment by Malaysian HEIs in implementing the agendas of SDG 2030. Through the author’s examination of the Programme Standard of Malaysian Qualification Agency for each undergraduate programme offered in Malaysian HEIs, all programmes have prioritized for their students to possess the appropriate knowledge, skills and values towards sustainability. Additionally, there are also impactful initiatives towards achieving the agendas of SDG 2030 that are carried out by Malaysian HEIs. Notably, University Malaya and Universiti Sains Malaysia were part of the Top 100 universities in the world committed towards the 17 goals of SDG 2030. Unfortunately, as with the other education levels, the social and economic dimension may still be lacking. In a study on engineering undergraduates in one of the HEIs in Malaysia, the author found that the undergraduates have not developed the appropriate attitude and perception on social and economy sustainability issues. This clearly shows that ESD in the investigated institution failed to prepare the students on the two dimensions – social and economic- that are important in realizing SDG 2030. In Malaysia, the notion of SD is much focused to the environmental dimension, with little emphasis has been given in the context of social and economic dimension. The social and economic components of sustainability have received little attention in Malaysian education owing to a lack of knowledge of the holistic meaning of sustainability. Sustainability has been interpreted in a confined environmental context only due to the educators and other stakeholders who crafted the ESD curriculum themselves having limited exposure to the true meaning of sustainability and sustainable development. The method of thinking that limiting the elements of sustainability to environmental factors is also due to the cultural setting of Malaysians who prioritized environmental issues in the context of SD.
Conclusion
Despite the three dimensions of SDGs being equally important, there seems to be a sole emphasis on the environmental dimension at all levels. Gender equality, sustainable economic actions, reducing poverty in society, and other critical areas of social and economic sustainability must be imprinted into students through viable and assertive ESD curriculum in order to provide a comprehensive sustainability philosophy to all Malaysian students. Therefore, all relevant parties involved in developing the ESD curriculum must now take swift and significant steps to focus on the dimensions of sustainability that have been overlooked. Bringing the pillars of sustainability together not only allows for the establishment of a sustainable and progressive nation, but it also allows for the improvement of racial harmony in multi-ethnic societies by encouraging students to emphasize on poverty eradication and the pursuit of equality in the nation. This may develop stronger relationships between people of diverse race and religious backgrounds who are working to achieve economic and social equality in society in line with the overall aim of SDG 2030.
