Potential educators from the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) have the opportunity to undergo focused training either domestically or abroad through the MARA Educator Empowerment Training Scheme announced today. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the scheme, launched in conjunction with the 2024 MARA Educator Awards Day, focuses on the empowerment of pedagogy, mastery of teaching content, and instructional leadership. The Minister of Rural and Regional Development said MARA has decided to send these educators to five countries renowned for their expertise in education, namely Finland, Japan, Germany, China, and the United States. "The identified courses focus on pedagogy or innovative teaching, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training), and educational leadership. "Therefore, we have identified several educators who will be sent abroad. In addition, 19 MARA educators have also been selected to pursue advanced educat ion in TVET and various other fields in China, starting from this month until September," he told a press conference after officiating at the MARA Educator Awards Day here. Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said the scheme, which offers both short-term and long-term courses, also aims to train MARA educators to become instructors in the 'Training for Trainers Scheme', enabling them to teach students as well as other educators. He added that the ministry would evaluate the effectiveness of sending the first group of MARA educators and that more of them would be sent subsequently using MARA's internal funds. However, he noted that this would depend on the offered places of study and cooperation from foreign higher education institutions. Source: BERNAMA News Agency