Why
doom? For the main pillar holding this nation and even in the future
will be how qualified our future citizens are, especially in education. Take this away, we will have compromised doctors, lawyers, engineers, ministers, and in every aspect of the profession.
Instead of saying there is room for improvement, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek is saying that we are on par with Singapore and Japan. What is this? A syiok sendiri statement. A political statement to satisfy certain quarters. Or is Fadhlina (above) just dreaming?
Wake
up, minister. When Pakatan Harapan came to power, we are expecting
leaders that will correct all that is wrong with this nation, especially
the quality of education. Sad to say, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, this is seriously
disappointing. You have some ministers that have proven that they are
capable, but this education minister really deserves the cake with the
icing.
Besides Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, many educationists who are concerned
with the quality of education had voiced out on many occasions about
the condition of the schools and its syllabus. It needs to be revamped.
We
are very far from Singapore’s and Japan’s levels in quality of
education. Our students in the govt schools are being abused mentally by
impregnating them with third-grade educational studies. Anwar,
do something about it. If you do not have the courage to correct the
syllabus and put it on par with the other many nations, then prepare to
see the people and the nation pay a hefty price in the future.
Vijay47: The similarity with the
Singapore curriculum notwithstanding, it would be mischievous and indeed
unpatriotic for anyone to suggest that Malaysian education standards
are in any way inferior to the high levels that the Little Dot claims to
have.
Malaysia’s exceptional position is evident
from the fact the Malays, who form the majority in national schools,
display exceptional merit and competence that the non-Malays cannot hope
to match, hence the Malays making up 94.83 percent of the civil service.
As
a spiritual country, Malaysia must obviously focus beyond the 3Rs, that
is, Reading, Writing, and aRithmetic in addition to the traditional 3Rs
of Race, Religion, and Ruler; here “ruler” is not a plastic instrument
that measures in inches or centimetres.
Accordingly,
much emphasis is placed on religious lessons and to ensure uniformity,
all students are expected to attend, especially those who wish to join
the national football team.
To ensure success in this sacred objective, religious scholars
are even appointed from abroad, in particular, Mumbai, India. After all,
Man does not live on bread or nasi lemak alone.
Much
seems to be made of Singapore and Japan standing at position 2 and 4
respectively, clearly heads and shoulders over Malaysia in the PISA
rankings where our country does not even feature in the Top 40 or 50. Rankings
and percentages are, like one’s age, mere numbers that do not reflect
the true values which a nation holds close to its bosom.
For
all their probable gloating and smirking, Singapore and Japan cannot
even jointly touch the quality of education that Malaysia proudly boasts
of – 500 PhDs every year without fail.
Apanama is back:
Education minister, do you know what happened after Malaysia’s ranking
in Mathematics, Science, and Reading in the Triennial Programme for
International Student Assessment (Pisa) dropped? This is what your
ministry did.
The Education Ministry rushed to change the primary school syllabus a few years ago to make it tougher and to improve the country’s Pisa ranking. The
education ministry was very upset as it affected the national image.
So, they decided to change the syllabus a few years ago to make it
harder.
“Teachers were asked to attend courses over
the last few years to be briefed about the changes. That’s when we were
told the move was because of the Pisa ranking,” said one teacher. The
teacher said the ministry gradually upgraded the Maths and Science Year
5 syllabus to be used for Year 4, Year 6 became that of Year 5 and the
Form 1 syllabus was taught to Year 6 students.
Another
teacher said textbooks were also changed and many students struggled to
adapt, especially when it also coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic.
This impacted the teaching and learning in schools over the last two
years. “Our assessment showed at least four to five
students in each class obtaining the lowest bands in each of the
subjects, which is not good.”
The teacher said they
have given their feedback to their school heads who are supposed to have
conveyed it to the state authorities. “We really hope they do so as the problem is a serious one. It’s the teachers on the ground who are struggling.”
One
teacher alleged that there were instances where certain headmasters had
even advised teachers to avoid giving students the lowest band in their
assessment so that the school would not have to submit a report to the
state education department. Under current practice,
the students are given Band 1 to Band 6 in their annual evaluation.
Bands 1 and 2 are the lowest, which classify the students as not having
acquired the minimum academic requirement in the subjects.
“This is totally unacceptable as it leads to the lowering of standards, which is happening now,” the teacher added. Did you find out how many schools had lowered their standard to send “good to see” and “nice to read” reports? You may have been fed the wrong information. This is just one example only.
