Unlikely Malaysia Will See A Positive Change In Its Education System Even If Parents Demand It

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Letter to editor
AS THE curtains come down on the higher education blueprint (2015-2025), it is time for the Madani government to reform our archaic education system to make it on par with the rest of the developed nations.
The best brains should be engaged to develop the blueprint and introduce some important changes in the education system.
Instead of rote learning, schools should engage the children in active learning. School children should be taught to carry out research on their own at an early age – and learn that by actively sharing their knowledge – they become more learned themselves.
Instead of rote learning and spoon feeding, the pupils’ oratory and writing skills should be developed to enable them to present the subject matter to their classmates after they have mastered the subject. Teachers should only serve as facilitators.
It is time for the Education Ministry to cut the craps such as Moral Education and Civics Education using textbooks. Instead, to teach children about honesty, they should be encouraged to carry out research on their own, or even talk to adults why honesty is important in order to get ideas that can be turned into a mini-drama in class.


Information & Communication Technology should best be learnt using ICT as tools for teaching. Equipped with a workbook, after watching a video teaching them about the different components in a computer, children will also develop their listening skills. It is even better to use a real PC where they get to see and touch the hardware components.
Failures of our education system
If we do not revamp our education system to keep in pace with technological advancement in artificial intelligence, our children will be left behind in a world that forges ahead while we are still stuck with our caveman’s education system.
The rote learning is unable to produce a generation that is creative, analytical, actively researching and independently learning new things. We have often complained that our fresh graduates lack the ability to think critically; as a result, they are so gullible that they are ready to believe everything just because “The teacher said so…”
No wonder our local graduates are hardly employable. Just knowing how to pass examinations but unable to interact with their counterparts as young and mature adults, they seriously lack the soft and critical thinking skills that employers are looking for in their employees.
This is why I was very disappointed with a Chinese school where my children started their primary education. The principal was more interested in having parents buy workbooks and this ended up with very heavy school bags.
My son who was in Standard 3 had nearly 30 workbooks including the ones given by the ministry. Another girl in Standard 5 had over 40 workbooks! On average, parents would have easily spent RM440,000 every year for the school’s 2,200-student enrolment.
Despite complaints to the state education department and the then Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malek, parents were left to take on the principal on their own. In retaliation, she would victimise the children of parents who complained to the ministry.
Stop interfering
Dr Maszlee who was the former Simpang Renggam MP was busy implementing his own ideas – black shoes and socks, swimming as a cocurricular activities for school children and Khat as part of the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus.

If all his ideas were implemented, the school syllabus would end up becoming a big heap of unpalatable knowledge fed to our children.
Khat, for example, could have been taught and appreciated alongside with other forms of calligraphy during arts lessons instead of incorporating into an already overpacked syllabus for Bahasa Malaysia.
Now, it is time for current Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to listen to the concerns parents have expressed over the years. I was deeply disappointed when Fadhlina told parents not to interfere with the school system.
Her claim that the Malaysian education standard is on par with Singapore is simply laughable. It is time for the politicians like her to acknowledge the weaknesses in our education system and work hard at improving it.
Fadhlina SidekParents are supposed to be the main stakeholders because we take interest in the way our children are being educated. Therefore, our input is important. Once the new syllabus is developed by qualified educationists, politicians should stop interfering into the education system.
Politicians come and go, and they should only focus on ensuring that ministry officers carry out their jobs efficiently. Fadhlina should ensure that teachers are promoted based on their qualifications and passion to teach.
There have been many stories of good senior assistants being sidelined while the less competent teachers are promoted based on their race and religion.
If it is serious about preparing the younger generation to face the future challenges, the Madani government should start getting new ideas from other countries and recruit only teachers who are passionate about teaching young people.

 
Stephen Ng
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia

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