“However the THES ranking system has come under fire following a new analysis of it and its main rival, Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Writing in the November edition of the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Macquarie academics Paul Taylor and Richard Braddock said the Jiao Tong system was “clearly superior”.

“In emphasising research, it (the Jiao Tong) focuses on one of the essential functions of a university … in contrast with the THES system, which gives great weight to (subjective) peer review, the Jiao Tong system concerns itself with genuine criteria rather than mere symptoms of excellence,” the pair said.”

Like every Ah Meng, Ah Lian, Siva and Punita, I sat for STPM in order to gain a place in one of the local universities.

Matrikulasi is nowhere near STPM in terms of its intellectual quality and level of difficulty. Period.

Meritocracy in this land is non-existent, right from primary school all the way to tertiary education.

In 1991, my batch of students who took part in SPM exam created some very interesting stats. There were 9 students who scored 7 or more As but failed to score a credit in Bahasa Malaysia, some even with 8 straight As. Also, about 34% of studens fail to score at least a credit for BM. The result was definitely not in normal distribution. Interesting, because in the same school, the other exam center produced some totally different (and normal) results where majority of the students scored between C3 and C6; thus, a perfectly normal bell curve.

For the earlier-mentioned exam center above, students had to look for alternatives as they were not qualified to study in Form 6 (in gov schools). For those whose family could afford, left this country; the rest decided to waste one more year for SPM to get at least a credit in BM, some decided to get a job then only decide what to do.

For your information, in those who left the country, one is now a qualified petroleum engineer in USA, one is a neuro surgeon in Singapore, one is a lawyer in England………the list goes on.

Well, who cares????

The excellent gov of this country can only take care of some people, but at the expense of other people. All are Malaysians. Unfortunately, different treatments are applied.

I have been struggling in looking for the answers for all these funny, silly, appalling, stupid, ignorant, shiok sendiri, arrogant, dishonest……….policies.

I think some people are just too afraid to lose, not even at the cost of this country’s development and maturity. They would not want to give anything away to other races. The longer they wait, they more their own people are hurt. Somehow they are just so afraid to lose, kiasi. Or maybe the stake is just too much now, there is simply no way back anymore. The rhetoric of asking the people t be independent and don’t rely on assistance are just bullshit. That person knows it is almost impossible to reverse the situation. Bad habits die hard, and bad habits are getting worse.

Its not only in education, but all aspects of our lives, ie business opportunity, welfare, etc.

I just hope something will happen to right the wrongs. Unfortunately, that thing might not be pleasant and can even be revolutionary.

“Group discussion, Friday, 2pm at the library.”

Got back a reply, “Apa kamu cakap ni? Ku x faham la.”

I wonder, how on earth that they got a place in the university?

“Group discussion, on Friday, 2pm at the library.”

Got a reply back like this. “Apa kamu cakap ni? Ku x faham la.”

Wow.. I wonder how they got a place into the university..

“In addition, we have strengthened our safeguards against individuals voting for their own university in the peer review
part of the analysis… But we suspect that some Malaysian and Singaporean institutions have lost out because of our increased rigour over voting for one’s own university, and there are no Malaysian universities in this top 200.”

The statement suggests that UM, USM, UKM and so did not really qualify for the top-200 anyway in the previous years – their ranking was artificially inflated and bubbled up because academics ‘voted for themselves’ in the previous surveys.

Isn’t this worrying…?

New universities are added to the radar screen, improved methods of measurements etc. These are no different in way things are made, the work we do, the way we work etc.

It all mean that in reality we are falling behind a changing world.

Yesterday, our DPM said that if we remove the subsidy on oil, then we would have RM40billion more to spend on development. Remove the subsidy today and our economy would spin into a recession. Remove over a few years, and growth would slow by at least a point or two. Make it up with spending? How long will that last and we all knows it mostly goes into the pockets of Scomi and Monsoon Cup stakeholders.?Najib talk of reaching for the stars and yet his ideas are practically stone-age…

Contrast what Rafiah said to Singapore response. It was ranked in 10th place and no gov official even made peep but now it has fallen, there are warning of apathy and resolve to be better..

I tell you, they don’t get it, they just don’t.

Upon their return but after having seen how their predecessors indulged in the politics of language and education and emerged to occupy seats of power, they feel drawn to it like a needle to a magnet – but this time betraying all that they have learned in exchange for the shortsightedness of their ambitions, subordinating national aspirations to a narrow form of Malay nationalism.

As their children, beneficiaries of not only a western style education but western education, return to take over their places they will no doubt once again be pins to a magnet.

The result?? Our tertiary educational institutions would continue to “grow” to be fertile grounds for racists and bigots of the future. After years of abuse, it requires a visionary leader among the Malays to stop the rot.

Who can blame anyone who thinks that waiting for that visionary leader to emerge is akin to the Jews waiting for their Messiah to come after some 2,000 years!

The question warrants an answer of several hours to read. There is no fast lane to it; and some adjustments here or there will not at all improve anything. Neither will sending 100.000 overseas to pursue their studies.

What I don’t understand is, how can the VCs go stubbornly along and announce for 20 universities in this country to be among the 10 best by 2015 globally? Who will believe this? But that’s our mentality, we just let them talk and count the minutes for the exercise to end. We subscribe to ‘harmony’ when the VC of UiTM declared in 2005/2006 that UiTM had achieved a position in front of Harvard. At the same time it was one of the 10 leading research universities globally, so the VC in a staff meeting.
Talk could not be any more hollow than that. Accountability cannot be lower than zero.
What bothers me even more, is the current trend by MoHE to streamline all universities, including the private ones, into an indistinguishable agglomeration of almost identical institutions fully directed by MoHE. At least in all places that I know, committee memberships and paperwork proving success and scientific activities are gradually replacing research.
I need to defend many a staff here: Though there is a hardcore stubborn minority of believers, the vast majority is well aware that all of these blueprints, masterplans and other activities are nothing but deliberate window-dressing for the advancement of the ministerial hierarchies. The societal culture simply is one of vertical organisation, leaders-and-followers, power distance.

November 9th, 2007 at 23: 56.05
To compare STPM with matrikulasi is like comparing a durian with a rambutan respectively. Try cracking open a durian with your bare hands and then open a rambutan with a twist of your fingers.

===

dUmno people will rebut you both are “buah-buahan”.