JANUARY 14 — With the new calendar year upon us, seeing kids head back to school while many are still reeling from the effects of some of the most tremendous floods Malaysia has ever seen, does not bode well at all, especially for the confidence of these children.
But can the Malaysian education system in public schools serve as a tonic for students or parents, to inspire them to face the new academic year ahead, to raise their spirits?
Or is there a severe foundational problem on which our system is based upon?
The fact of the matter is that today, public schools are not what they used to be, and I’m afraid they never will be the same, ever again.
Young couples (and old) have lost almost every ounce of faith they had in the way students are nurtured in our schools, which has led to public schools being a ‘forced upon’ choice, rather than the ‘go-to’ option for many.
I have, in various conversations with friends, colleagues and others, broached the topic of education, and where parents these days are sending (or would send) their kids to. No one, if given the choice, would opt for Malaysia’s public schools.
Our public schools have now become a ‘road rather not taken’ for those who have the choice of doing so, with many instead opting for private schools, or the ever-mushrooming international schools in urban areas.
For those who are unable to make that choice though, they send their kids to public schools, a sort of ‘last resort’ if all else fails.
Where did it all go wrong?
Why does a child in Malaysia have to depend on the size of their parent’s bank account to have access to quality education centred on equality?
What is taking place in Malaysia now, is a very discreet yet dangerous privatisation of knowledge (brought into place by Najib Razak during his stint as education Minister in the mid-90s), where the rich are able to facilitate a better structure for their young ones to grow within, while everyone else almost rots in a system which has been termed by the World Bank as alarming?
We’re now treading on treacherous grounds, which will further exacerbate the inequality between the rich and everyone else, as unequal opportunity will definitely lead to inequality in outcome.
Is this lack of quality in our education system only perception, or are there further undercurrents?
One look at the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores, will show that our system is moving in leaps and bounds, but in the wrong direction.
But what is worse though, students in our schools are being judged on two things; test scores, and test scores. If they are not able to perform in exams, then they are given the message that ‘You are not good enough’ and shunned aside.
How will that build confidence?
In essence, our students are being prepared, not to learn, but take tests. And the government complains that our graduates are having a tough time getting employment.
What we really need is to rethink how education is provided by the state, to students. Learning and nurturing should not just happen on papers within the confines of a classroom. There is a far larger world out there. Education is not just about academics, rather, there is something larger, which is needed.
A peek to Finland, said to possess the most efficient system there is, display that the students there spend a very little amount in their classrooms, and with money spent on educators making up a large sum of their budget.
Yet, on paper, Malaysia has a better student to teacher ratio at 12 to 1. (Finland has 14 students to a teacher).
In essence, the government needs to educate educators, as well as getting the best there is out there, and looking to make the profession of teaching a truly respected and cherished one.
But simply throwing money at it will not solve the problem. Malaysia has spent RM38.7 billion and RM54 billion in 2013 and 2014 respectively. This year, subject to the budget being reviewed, the education sector has been allocated RM56.6 billion, but only a fraction of this is for development. 92.5 per cent of this amount is for ‘operational expenditure’.
To inspire the confidence, which is tragically lacking, altering the way this system works through having a new curricular could provide a much-needed boost to students.
Education should not be of the conventional encyclopaedic way, where students are regimented to act in a certain way, serving the needs of a nation at a given time. It instead should evolve into a high-energy system, allowing the mind to work in a limitless fashion, to come up with new ideas.
The state has to fund a system of education, and put in place the best educators, not politicians, to ensure that Malaysians get top quality by sending students to public schools.
For all of this to happen, the Education Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, has to first remove himself from being in control of the sector, and getting people who are qualified to take on this overhaul project.
If that does not take place, the acceptance toward public schools will keep dwindling, and Malaysia as a nation, will remain rooted to its spot, as is now. Time is running out.
* Jay Jay Denis works with a Malaysian Member of Parliament and is currently doing research on Social Democracy and International Trade Agreements which Malaysia is part of.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
