DEC 26 — Our students are now four years behind Singapore in Mathematics.
Two years behind Vietnam in Science and 4.5 years behind Shanghai in reading skills. We are still ahead of Indonesia, but since we are sending our best and brightest to Indonesia for a degree, it is just a matter of time before they overtake us in global rankings.
Given time, and if things remain unchanged, I wouldn’t be surprised if they source out Malaysians as maids and workers for their industries.
In light of recent events, let me suggest a few, painful ways to improve our schools.
First, remove politicians from the Ministry of Education.
Education and politics don’t mix. The process of learning, and growing up requires us to recognise, admit and make improvements. You won’t learn if you are big headed, egoistic, and don’t listen.
Have you come across a politician who isn’t like that? I haven’t.
So imagine what happens when our students perform badly in exams. Instead of going on a fact finding mission, dissecting, identifying and making concrete changes to education policies, they water down the exams.
They get students to pray hard and distribute “smart” raisins in schools.
When that fails, they lower passing marks. And just as the passing mark is about to hit rock bottom, they hide it and declare the marks national secrets.
Just like Einstein said, “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”
We should get professionals and academicians to run MOE and their “shelf life” must not depend on the number of As our students produce. Our exams should be comparable to international standards, and the syllabus constantly measured against the best in the world.
There is no way we can do this when politicians are in charge. Not with the current batch anyway.
Second, our YBs must enrol their children in public schools. From the “wakil rakyat” to our dear prime minister.
Politicians, more than anyone else, will want the best for their children. Making them send their children to public schools provides them with a strong incentive to push for reforms in public education.
Not only that, schools will be also be on their toes vis a vis teaching standards.
Their children in public schools will encourage them to interact with people from low to middle economic backgrounds who make up the vast majority of the population.
At least they will learn first hand what the rakyat think of them when they raise taxes, utilitiy bills and spend billions on consultants.
Call it Sensitivity Training 101.
Third, we need better teachers. According to a World Bank report, 70 per cent of them are not even qualified to take up Bachelor of Education.
Unemployed graduates with no interest in teaching are also trained to teach in this country.
I suggest MOE retain and recruit back well-trained, retired teachers. Since they were responsible for our past successes, it is only logical for us to retain their services. Hire them as consultants if you want. If we can pay the Americans good money under the Fulbright programme, why not pay our experienced teachers the same?
When that happens, I guarantee you will not have problems looking for good teachers.
We need individuals with passion to teach our young. Not those who do it as a last resort, ending up with teachers who are also busy with multi level marketing and side businesses.
We need passion, imagination, quality teachers. Not magic pills, in this case raisins, to improve our standards.
Fourth, let us teach our young in the English language. If not PPSMI, then the government should consider creating English-medium schools in the country.
Critics should be made to understand that as long as Malaysia is regarded as a Third World country (no matter what the consultants want us to believe), as long as our graduates are unemployable, and as long as Malaysia remains behind technologically, Bahasa Malaysia will never be looked up to by the world.
Only a developed Malaysia will allow the respect Bahasa Malaysia deserves, and its proliferation as the next lingua franca in the region if not the world by our world-class, English proficient, sought-after students.
We need English in our schools. The sooner our leaders realise this the better.
Fifth, and last, let us leave religious lessons at home.
Our public schools should be sanctuaries that promote unity, beacons and centers of excellence and not homogenous classrooms that sprout racial, religious and political intolerance.
Students, parents and most importantly government servants should check their race and religion at the school gates. And with that I propose the scrapping of religious classes and moral studies in our schools.
They have no business there. The responsibility to equip children with religious education lies with the parents.
Not the government. Certainly not the tax payers.
Lastly, Malcolm X said, “Education is after all our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”
I hope the government realises that the rise and fall of our nation lies with them.
While our politicians are dispensable, our future certainly is not.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
