CAIRO, April 2, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak asserted on Saturday, April 1, that due attention to higher education and training hold the key for the country to become the first developed Muslim nation by 2020, the New Straits Times reported on Sunday, April 2.

"If we look at the international standard, if we want to achieve developed-nation status, we need a cohort of at least 40 percent with higher education," he said after opening the Pahang-level Higher Education Expo 2006.

Najib noted that currently only around 29 percent of Malaysian students go for further studies, way below the benchmark for a developed nation.

"This is a benchmark of developed nations. We’re working on it in the run-up to 2020, preferably to achieve 40 percent participation before then."

Education and training received the biggest allocation of RM50.6 billion under the 2006-2010 Ninth Malaysia Plan unveiled by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Friday, March 31.

The development plan, the first since Abdullah came to power in 2003, aims at tackling poverty and spurring economic growth by focusing on rural development, education.

The blueprint is to be rolled out at a cost of 200 billion ringgit (54 billion dollars), compared to 170 billion ringgit for the previous plan.

Najib said the government would be taking pains to address the problem of school drop-out, noting that many primary students fail to make it to secondary school.

"This is something that we cannot accept and have to find ways to ensure no student drops out. They must have a minimum of 11 years of schooling."

Under the five-year plan, the government has set a target that all students should at least complete secondary school.

"We hope to achieve zero dropout rate among school students within the next five years," Najib added.

"Ideally, we would want everyone to enter the job market with at least a skills certificate."

The deputy premier said the government would seek to promote awareness among parents regarding the importance of education.

He added that vigorous campaigns would be held to highlight the importance of education, especially among people in the lower income groups.

Najib underlined that such people need to know that the government allocates funds to assist in financing their children’s education.

Successive five-year economic plans have tried to bridge the wealth gap between urban and rural areas but the government has acknowledged that the divide has only become wider.

While children at public schools in Kuala Lumpur enjoy computer facilities and sports grounds, Abdullah admitted Friday that hundreds of rural schools lack electricity and piped water and that 1.15 billion ringgit would be spent to upgrade them.

The plan aims to totally eradicate extreme poverty in Malaysia, addressing the plight of some 300,000 citizens or 1.2 percent of the population of 26 million who survive on 112 dollars a month.

It also tackles the continuing income disparity between the majority ethnic Malays, who make up more than 60 percent of the population, and the minority ethnic Chinese community which largely controls the business sector.