FEBRUARY 29 ― 1. In school, 90 per cent of the “top” students kill to get into the Science stream, but 90 per cent of school-leavers go into Business and 120 per cent of them want to do nothing but make money.

Our children grow up dreaming of being, say, a pilot or doctor or lawyer or Iron Man and so on. But after they grow up? All they want to do is get rich or die tryin’ ― which sorta proves that we never grow up.

2. In school, 80 per cent of the material is covered/delivered in Malay, but in the office 90 per cent of professional life is communicated in English. Not only does this lead to language pitfalls in office, it’s also a major reason why our unemployment rate for fresh grads rivals our inflation rate: Our England very char siew pau.

Furthermore, how many folks get to substantially improve their language proficiencies once they’ve joined the workforce? Short of attending evening classes, how do our language skills grow when we’re clocking in? That’s the problem – they don’t. Or not very much.

3. In school, Maths and Science are deemed critical. But after school? The only algebra we work on is buying cinema tickets; the only Biology we care about is the shape of our favourite porn stars’ assets; the only Physics attempted is calculating the seconds required to beat the amber-turning-red light; and the only Chemistry performed is pouring the prawn paste on the asam laksa.

4. In school, Physical Education (PE), Moral Education and Arts are not considered important ― at best side-orders, at worst “pariah” subjects; but nowadays? Everybody wears Fit-Bits like a magic bracelet, we scream at political corruption for breakfast, and anybody who wishes to move up in the corporate world better have more than a damn clue about what counts as good “culture.”

5. In school, using the Internet for teaching/learning is considered “innovative.” But after completing school (or just about any time other than at school), the Web is as optional as water. In school (and even universities), online assessment is almost taboo and peer-to-peer evaluation is secondary; elsewhere, practically every assessment worth taking is digitalised and evaluation is “360.”

6. In school, Drama classes are a joke and students are commanded to be truthful (with no exceptions). But at work? Everybody puts on a mask and pretends to care about nothing but the organisation. In fact, to be perfectly honest about how you feel in the office could be a recipe for disaster. Am I recommending that we teach our students to tell lies in school? Hardly. But maybe it would help if students learnt about cases where lies were required (Ethics?), or when “official” truths were lies themselves (Ideology? Political History?), or about truth that often takes the form of fiction or socially acceptable lies (Culture / Etiquette?).

Whilst we’re at it, what do you think is the difference between an ancient slave and a modern employee? Answer: The slave is never obligated to praise his superior.

7. In school, everybody lines up and sings in front of the flag; but after school, everybody curses in front of the computer screen showing powerful people holding flags ― so where is Political Science 101?

8. In school, we often hear about how “precious” our children are but – surprise surprise ― guess which educators are paid the least? The teachers responsible for moulding the minds of excited little children or people with Pizza Hut Delivery titles who “educate” our bored young adults by droning on and on in over-sized lecture halls.

The logic is amazing: “You are paid so low because the fees for educating small children are much lower.” This is the same logic governing why helping drug addicts get back on their feet will earn you much less than if you seek to persuade already-rich folks they should make even more. Likewise, if you sell real fruits on the streets, your bank account will be much worse off than if you distributed sugared fruit-flavoured water in malls.

9. In school, exams are where we get locked in a room for  three hours and made to write about 300 pages of stuff we hate (and won't need) to remember the very moment the exam is over. But at business conferences, we love to repeat ― over and over again ― just how bad and “exam-oriented” our education system is, whilst going home to force our kids to study and do well... for their exams.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.