Prime Minister''s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor today launched the Permata Negara Quality Assurance System (Permata Q) aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the Permata Negara curriculum implemented by government run nurseries and those registered with the Welfare Department.

Rosmah, who is also patron of the Permata programme, said the system was introduced to ensure its implementation was consistent with the concept, philosophy and criteria set by Permata.

"This evaluation system is the aspiration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who has directed that the implementation of the Permata Negara curriculum be bench-marked with international best practices," she said at the Permata Negara Educators Excellence Day 2017 here today

She said the Permata Q system has six standard quality components to ensure it is a comprehensive and complete assessment that included aspects of management, learning, assessment, baby care and human resources.

"The Permata Q system is also aimed at helping the nursery to benchmark so as to determine their actual position in terms of quality," she said.

Rosmah said the Permata Q rating is divided into two stages, with the first stage involving nurseries that had passed to proceed to the second stage, namely the quality assessment by an appointed evaluation panel.

"To ensure it is implemented properly, the Permata Negara Quality Assurance Committee is set up with membership from the several stakeholders, the Malaysian Qualification Agency," she said.

She said the Permata Q system pilot project which involved 700 nurseries from various implementing agencies, was launched last year with 22 nurseries that had been awarded the Permata Q Cetified certificate.

Since the Taska Permata programme was introduced in in 2007, she said it has grown to 688 branches nationwide aside from 4,733 private kindergartens that also uses the Permata curriculum throughout the country -BERNAMA