# Ministry of Education (Brunei)

The Ministry of Education (MoE; Malay: Kementerian Pendidikan) is a cabinet-level ministry in the government of Brunei which oversees education in the country. It was established immediately upon Brunei's independence on 1 January 1984. It is currently led by a minister and the incumbent is Romaizah Mohd Salleh who took office since 7 June 2022. The ministry is headquartered in Bandar Seri Begawan.

## History

With the founding of the Jabatan Pelajaran (Department of Education) in 1951, under the direction of the British Resident and with assistance from local educators, Brunei's educational framework started to take shape. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III gained responsibility over internal matters, including education, with the enactment of the 1959 Brunei Constitution. The State Education Officer was nonetheless in charge of the department in spite of this.
The purpose of the 1970 establishment of the Suruhanjaya Pelajaran, 'Education Commission' was to assess and enhance Brunei's educational system. The Department of Education established the Examination Unit, Examination Board, and Education Council in 1974 in response to the 1972 Education Commission Report. The Administration and Services Division, Education Planning and Development Division, and School and College Division were established by 1980, expanding the department's organisational structure. Local citizen Ahmad Jumat was first appointed as Pemangku Pengarah Pendidikan (Acting Director of Education) in 1976, and confirmed in 1977.
Following independence the Department of Education was led by a minister and called the Kementerian Pelajaran dan Kesihatan (Ministry of Education and Health). The ministry has introduced a number of new divisions or units, including the Planning and Information Unit, the Secondary Division, the Publication Unit, the External Activities Division, the Curriculum Development Division, and the Primary Division. A few divisions or sections were elevated to departments in 1987. A few of these include the Department of Planning, Development, and Research; the Department of Schools; the Department of Examinations; the Department of School Inspection; and the Department of Administration and Services.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health were split off in 1989 to become the two distinct ministries. A more regional approach to texts, school curriculum, and certification resulted from this restructure. The National Approval Recognition Council (1990), Brunei Darussalam Technical and Vocational Education Council (1991), Department of Technical Education (1993), Special Education Unit (1994), Co-curricular Department (1995, later renamed in 1997), National Education Council (1999), Science Technology and Environment Cooperation Center (1999), Department of Information and Communication Technology (2001), and the Planning and Estate Management Department (2002) were among the new bodies and departments established to support the implementation of educational changes and achieve national educational goals.
The problems of the 21st century were met by upgrading the current educational services and introducing new ones, such as ICT programs centered on e-education (e.g., edunet, e-learning, education information, digital libraries, and human capacity building). The Department of Information and Communication Technology was founded in 2001 to aid in the execution of various ICT programs at the ministry and school levels.

## Budget

In the fiscal year 2022–23, the ministry has been allocated a budget of B$583 million, a 23 percent decrease from the previous year.

## List of ministers

| No. | Minister | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Deputy |
| State Education Officer |||||||
| 1 | James Pearce | 1949 | 16 February 1953 | 3–4 years | – |
| 2 | H. J. Padmore | 3 March 1953 | 1959 | 3 years, 227 days | – |
| 3 | Idris Babji | c. 1960 | c. 1961 | 1 year | – |
| 4 | Malcolm MacInnes | c. 1962 | c. 1973 | 10–11 years | – |
| Director of Education |||||||
| 1 | A. D. Bumford | c. 1974 | 1 June 1976 | 1–2 years | Ahmad Jumat |
| 2 | Ahmad Jumat | 1977 | 1982 | 5 years | – |
| Minister of Education |||||||
| 1 | Abdul Aziz Umar | 1 January 1984 | 20 October 1986 | 2 years, 292 days | Ahmad Jumat |
| 2 | Abdul Rahman Taib | 20 October 1986 | 30 November 1988 | 2 years, 41 days | Ahmad Jumat |
| (1) | Abdul Aziz Umar | 30 November 1988 | 24 May 2005 | 16 years, 175 days | Ahmad Jumat |
| (1) | Abdul Aziz Umar | 30 November 1988 | 24 May 2005 | 16 years, 175 days | Suyoi Osman |
| (2) | Abdul Rahman Taib | 24 May 2005 | 29 May 2010 | 5 years, 5 days | Pengiran Mohammad |
| 3 | Abu Bakar Apong | 29 May 2010 | 22 October 2015 | 5 years, 146 days | Yusoff Ismail |
| 4 | Suyoi Osman | 22 October 2015 | 29 January 2018 | 2 years, 99 days | Pengiran Bahrom |
| 5 | Hamzah Sulaiman | 29 January 2018 | 7 June 2022 | 4 years, 129 days | Romaizah Salleh |
| 6 | Romaizah Salleh | 7 June 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 235 days | – |