Education Blueprint 2013-2025: The Danger of Making a Wrong Diagnosis

Sandra Rajoo 

The revised education blueprint 2013-2025 will soon be out. Judging by the proposals in the preliminary report I am not optimistic that this new version will adequately address our education woes. Will the eleven strategic ‘shifts’ reverse the current situation? The people in the education ministry (MoE) seem to think so, yet concerned educationists, this writer included, are not convinced. These so-called new initiatives are not new. Every now and then authorities rehash them to appease critics and justify their role as custodians of education. Attempts made to get feedback from the public were half-hearted, leaving many disappointed and annoyed. Where is the sincerity?

But what is alarming, in my view, is that this blueprint and its ‘transformation’ hype is not addressing the real problems which have distorted foundations and created deep cracks in our education system. It has merely scratched the surface of our predicament. Pumping in millions of ringgit will not make any difference if the analysis is wrong and the bottom line is ignored, and nicely phrased words make no difference if not properly translated into action.

Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, I Challenge You to a Debate!

Zan Azlee, The Malaysian Insider

You were way out of your depth. It was obviously clear. And that was the reason why you had to pull the microphone away from KS Bawani when she was speaking.

But you definitely had no awareness of this, I’m sure. You thought you were all that in your sophisticated-looking pantsuit and fancy title of President of Suara Wanita.

Trying to go for a SW1M? Try not to sink instead!

You were at a university, Universiti Utara Malaysia, an institution of learning where people go to (where most of them are actually legally adults) obtain an education.

You were a part of a panel at a forum. A panel forum, which I’m very sure, had an objective to bring forth discourse and intellectual discussion, and to share that with the students.

The forum, which was titled “Seiringkah Mahasiswa dan Politik”, had given the panellists a chance to speak, and also had a session that was open to the floor, a chance for the students to speak.

If the panellists were allowed to share their thoughts and opinions, then by all means, the members of the floor should be given that chance too. It is a forum anyway.

Explain Unisel Debt, Khalid Told

(The Star) - Selangor Umno is calling on Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to explain a RM54.8mil debt incurred by state-owned Universiti Selangor.

Its deputy chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar said the loss was sustained after Pakatan Rakyat took over the state in 2008.

Showing a copy of the university's 2010 audit report to the members of the media, Noh questioned why the information was not made public.

“He (Khalid) and the state financial officer signed the report on Aug 27.

“So, what is he waiting for? The people of Selangor need to know the truth,” he told reporters after the opening of the Tanjung Karang Umno division' meeting yesterday.

Education is Broken

Chris Lehmann introduces a revolutionary idea in education: Encourage learning by allowing students to do things they are good at instead of restricting them. While that may sound elementary, Lehmann's speech carves out an innovative way to teach students success so they will strive for success in the post-graduate world.

Hailing from Manhattan, Chris Lehmann is breathing fresh air into the Philadelphia School District by providing immediate feedback to teachers using an iPad, asking teachers to practice kindness in the classroom, and promoting a student-centered school.

Why Have One Stream Schools?

Anas Zubedy

What do you mean by one stream schools?

We now have national schools and vernacular schools, schools that use Mandarin and Tamil as their medium of teaching. We also have Agama schools. However I suggest that we work towards forming only one stream where all our children can learn together. For this to happen, there needs to be a change in our schooling system. We need to come up with a two-session structure perhaps where all students go to school together in the morning session, then learn the vernacular languages and other important skills in the afternoon. This way, Mandarin will not just be limited to the Chinese students, Tamil to the Indian students - our children can learn all major languages – including Arabic.

Why have one stream schools?

Because unity is our most important goal.

As children go through their socialization process, it is crucial that they do it in an environment that is true and representative of the Malaysian society. Beyond what they learn in school lessons, the actual process of socialization, mixing around with others around them, is the most influential learning process our children will go through. We must ensure that they get to know each other from a young age – that they interact with each other, learn to get used to each others' languages, practices, smells, quirks, culture… and if they have to quarrel because of differences, it should all be part of the socialization process from when they are young.

Local Grads Not Up to Mark

KUALA LUMPUR: Graduates emerging from the national education system are failing to meet the expectations of prospective employers due to a lack of critical thinking skills and poor communication.

This has resulted in employers having to provide additional training to fit them into their respective job scopes while many graduates have to accept employment that does not correspond with their qualifications.

Malaysian-based education, human resource and recruitment consultants feel there is a need for a sound foundation in critical thinking to be incorporated into the education system to prepare future generations for the employment market.

Manpower Staffing Services (M) Sdn Bhd country manager Sam Haggag said there was a distinct gap between what the education system was producing and what employers were looking for.
“This has resulted in six out of 10 graduates from Malaysian universities taking as long as six months to find a job.

Malaysian Education System 1

Problem with our national education system?

1. As a student, I would say yes. The reason why I am saying this is because, just look at our student, and you would say? Okay, just keep it for yourself for the time being. Before I could continue, I would like to share some of the schools that I went to back then:

1. Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Tai Tong (Sabah)
2. Sekolah  Sungai Koyan 1 (Pahang)
3. Sekolah Kebangsaan Kajang Utama (Selangor)
4. Sekolah Menengah Sains Tengku Abdullah (Pahang)
5. Stromlo High School (Canberra, Australia)
6. Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kajang Utama (Selangor)
7. Sekolah Menegah Sains Alam Shah (Kuala Lumpur)

Seeing first hand in Malaysian education system myself and now seeing my younger brother going through the same system, I believe there are significant weaknesses in the system.

Chedet: Pelajaran Sains dan Matematik

1. Saya telah cuba menjelaskan berkali-kali bahawa penggunaan Bahasa Inggeris untuk mengajar sains dan matematik bukan untuk mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris atau memperbaiki penguasaan bahasa itu. Tujuannya ialah untuk menguasai ilmu sains dan matematik.

2. Sains dan matematik (hisab) bukan seperti mata pelajaran lain. Fakta sejarah, geografi, sastera tidak berubah dengan pengaliran masa. Fakta dalam sejarah, geografi dan sastera kekal dan tidak bertukar.

3. Sains sebagai ilmu berkembang melalui penyelidikan dan kajian sepanjang masa. Sains yang saya belajar di sekolah dan di universiti tidak sama dengan sains masa kini. Dahulu tidak ada sains elektronik, komputer sains, sains angkasa lepas, “nano” sains, sains pembedahan dada, sains perubatan stem cell dan berbagai-bagai lagi. Semua ini di kenali dan diperkenal dari masa ke semasa melalui penyelidikan oleh pakar-pakar sains.

Footnote : Program Ijazah Luar Negara

1. My previous post on Program Ijazah Luar Negara had really created a huge misunderstanding among Malaysians students.

2. Again I would like to say here that I am not aiming my opinions to certain Malaysians. I felt that we, as a student were given a huge responsibility to bring something that we all can benefit from other countries. For example, work ethics, mentality, social responsibility and technology.

Program Ijazah Luar Negara

1. Every year, Malaysia sends her Crème de la crème to other nation's heart of educational system, hoping that this group of Malaysians could be our stepping stone for us to achieve Vision 2020, a developed nation before the year 2020.

2. For your information, this policy was implemented during the era of our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. From one point of view, we all can agree that many of Malaysia's strong men and women are the results of this program. Thanks to this policy too, we are now able to say that we are proud with our nation's achievement. But, from other point of view, this policy is starting to do us harm, from our education system to our country's economic progress. Thus bringing up the question whether this policy is still relevant with our current state?

Our English and PPSMI

1. I am a pro-PPSMI for our national education. Although for some reason there should be a strong basis before we can actually implement this system.

2. When our former Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad first conceived the PPSMI in 2002, it was in recognition of the fact that our English language level was in shamble and that we badly needed improvement in order not to be thrown further behind by the rest of the world.

3. This system did not perform as it should in the rural areas. The students hardly understand what is taught and as a result they have to use Bahasa Malaysia to explain the subject matter.