From Nurul Afida Kamaludin

SEOUL, July 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia wants to further enhance ties in the field of education with South Korea, particularly in the use of ICT in teaching and learning process, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.

He said Malaysia was also keen on collaborating with South Korea in curriculum development, teacher's training, vocational and technical as well as sports development in school.

Muhyiddin conveyed Malaysia's interest in these fields when he called on South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan here on Wednesday.

Towards this end, Muhyiddin, who is the Education Minister, said a memorandum of understanding on education would be signed by officers of both countries soon.

"We hope that the memorandum can be finalised before the visit by the President of South Korean to Malaysia at the end of this year. It will be a landmark agreement for both countries," he told a news conference with Malaysian journalists here.

Muhyiddin is on a four-day visit to South Korea until Thursday.

Muhyiddin said Chung welcomed Malaysia's interest and expressed South Korea's willingness to share its experience in these fields.

Muhyiddin also said that the visit enabled him to gain input on South Korea's National Education Information System (NEIS), an ICT network connecting all schools in this country.

He said he was impressed with the NEIS which allowed parents to monitor their children's progress in school and to get in touch with teachers through the Internet.

The NEIS is developed by the Korean Education and Research Information Service, an agency under the republic's Education, Science and Technology Ministry.

Muhyiddin said he had also conveyed Malaysia's appreciation to South Korea for allowing Malaysian students, numbering about 60 a year, to pursue engineering courses in this country under the Look East Policy.

-- BERNAMA