Muhyiddin's flip-flop shows ‘sad’ state of Malaysian education, DAP MP says

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 ― Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s contradictory statements reflect the “sad” state of Malaysia’s education system that has suffered indecisive policies more than other sectors, a DAP MP said today.

Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari pointed to Muhyiddin’s boast that Malaysia’s education system is a role model to other countries and contrasted it with the education minister’s earlier shock over the poor performance of Malaysian students in international assessments, such as the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

“So, which is it? Surely, our education system cannot be both shockingly bad and a role model to be emulated by other countries at the same time?” Zairil said in a statement.

“Ironically, Muhyiddin’s contradictory and indecisive stand is a sad reflection of the state of Malaysian education. Perhaps more than any other sector, our education policies are well known to suffer from contradictory and indecisive decision-making, a fact that has compromised the development of our country,” he added.

Zairil highlighted the controversial Teaching and Learning of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI) programme that was introduced in 2003, but discontinued in 2012 after billions invested in computer hardware, teacher training and a change of syllabi.

The DAP MP also highlighted the controversial School-Based Assessment (PBS) system that was introduced in 2011 but revamped just three years later when teachers complained of the administrative burden from the system.

Zairil also recalled efforts to raise English proficiency in government schools by making a pass in English compulsory in SPM exams from 2016.

While he praised this move, he said this came only after earlier decisions by the Education Ministry to reduce the importance of English.

“As a result of overzealous nationalism, education ministers in the 1970s began dismantling our legacy of quality English education, a price that will continue to be paid by generations of Malaysians,” the DAP assistant national publicity secretary said.

Zairil also pointed to what he called “white elephant” projects, like the RM4.1 billion 1BestariNet project to install 4G high-speed broadband in schools throughout the country, a project the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) now says should be scrapped after the Auditor-General's 2013 Report revealed that less than 1 per cent of students use the system, even though almost 9,000 schools are equipped with it.

Zairil said Malaysia has to fix the “broken education system if it wanted to become a high-income nation.

“Let’s face it,” he concluded, ”the quality of our education system should be so much better than it is.”