EDUCATION: PETALING JAYA, Malaysia- Stakeholders caution our education system may be heading for disastrous future

PETALING JAYA: From the Razak Report in the 1960s to the KBSM and KBSR of the 1980s and 1990s to the current KBAT and KBKK, all impressive acronyms, where do we stand on education?

Despite these numerous revamps and policy changes, stakeholders have cautioned that our education system may be heading for failure.

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Parent Action Group for Education president Datin Azimah Abdul Rahim said it is frustrating to see the top administration responsible for the nation’s education system not realising their shortcomings.

“They have failed to see what they are missing and therefore, any changes or revamps that are done are superficial and do not solve the bigger problem,” she told theSun.

Azimah said she was on the Majlis Penasihat Pendidikan Kebangsaan for two years.

“We had more than 100 meetings during my time there and many solutions were suggested, but I think our paper is now on someone’s desk and forgotten.”

Azimah said with the current situation and claims by teachers that they had to lie about students’ assessments, the country is heading towards a disastrous future.

“The unmasking of such incidents dampens students’ motivation and provides false hope,” she said.

Stressing that any changes in the education system must include feedback of all stakeholders and not merely to overcome a problem, she said: “The problem will not only cause issues in our schools. Corporations will give out scholarships based on these results, but is the quality of such students as good as it says on paper?”

Meanwhile, a former secondary school English teacher, who wished to be known only as Asri, said he retired early due to pressure from his superiors and the district education office.

“It is true teachers are expected to lie about students’ results, and if it (a student’s result) is very bad and no lie can improve it, the student will be asked to change school.”

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Asri said there was an incident where a student who was not academically inclined was pressured to a point where he rebelled against the school.

“I remember it was his first disciplinary offence, but since he was targeted to be removed from the school, he was expelled,” he said.

Asri added that he now helps tutor problematic students because he believes the syllabus and teaching techniques used in schools are not able to capture the interest of such students.

He said changes in the education system are mainly in the syllabus but teachers are not given the right tools to educate students.

“I hope the Education Ministry realises that whatever it is doing is not working and requires an in-depth relook.

“A good result on paper is like giving students false hope. When they go out into the real world or to other countries to study, then they might realise where they really stand,” he said.

TRIVIA:

whith·er

/ˈ(h)wiT͟Hər/

Learn to pronounce

adverb

1. to what place or state.

   “whither are we bound?”

adverb

1. to which (with reference to a place).

   “the barbecue had been set up by the lake, whither Matthew and Sara were conducted”