Archive for category Education
Wither English, wither the nation
— Thomas Fann
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 21, 2012
JUNE 21 — The title of this article is inspired by a presentation I heard at an English language conference I attended recently. It was a gathering of educators involved in the teaching of English in schools and people who are committed to raising the standard of spoken and written English in our nation. Coincidentally, another article by Stephen Doss was published at the same time entitled “Whither the standard of English.” (http://stephendoss.blogspot.com/2012/06/whither-standard-of-english.html)
CURRENT SITUATION
For me, a few facts stood out. Firstly, the height from which our command of English has fallen in our nation as a whole. Most of the invited speakers spoke impeccable English, especially the “dinosaurs” amongst them. But they were from a bygone era, an era where English was the main language of instruction in our schools and our proficiency in the language was among some of the best in the world.
Secondly, there is a sense of haplessness among the educators that they are going against the flow, that the political will is not there to stem the downward slide despite all the chatter from politicians about improving the standard of English in our country. The reversal in the decision to teach maths and science in English is one such example of this inconsistency.
Thirdly, that the fruit of this decline is now maturing in our society, where we heard a newspaper editor and a hotel owner bemoaning the fact that they are finding it increasingly difficult to secure employees who are able to speak and write good English, which is a vital criteria in their industries. We used to laugh at signage and product manuals from China but now we laugh with them.
But alas, all is not lost especially when we heard from some of the younger teachers who spoke. Their passion, creativity and commitment to raise the level of English in our schools and their use of new technology are encouraging and gave us hope that there are still many out there who believe that English as a language is still important in this country. Read the rest of this entry »
Do you trust them?
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Education, Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin on Tuesday, 19 June 2012
— Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
June 19, 2012
JUNE 19 — Everything begins and ends with this question: Do you trust them?
Do you trust Khaled Nordin to look after the interest of Malaysians or do you believe that the Parliamentary Select Committee was set up to regurgitate information provided by Lynas and merely rubber stamp an investment already banked in by the Barisan Nasional government?
Please bear in mind that Khaled is also the minister who believed he was doing the right thing when he froze federal loans to students at Unisel in a show a political gamesmanship that he lost.
Do you trust Rais Yatim when he tells all and sundry that only 22,000 Malaysians attended Bersih 3.0?
Do you trust M. Kayveas when he says that urban Malaysians are navel-gazers and an ungrateful bunch who only know how to whine? Read the rest of this entry »
Remove Moral Studies from the SPM
CPIASIA
Foreword by CPI
A group of concerned parents are making a representation to Suhakam with regard to many longstanding complaints about Moral Studies taught in upper secondary school.
For many years now, the exam format of this subject has been so rigid that students are forced to strictly memorize 36 ‘values’ and definitions. They are then required to regurgitate word for word what they’ve memorized when sitting the SPM paper.
Such a method of testing morality is best suited to training parrots and appears to be designed by monkeys. Who are these monkeys that have been instrumental in designing the examination and how have they been allowed to get away with their monkey business for so long?
Any youth who has been educated to think critically might well ask, why 36 values, and why not 35 or 37? Who defines these ‘values’? Why must definitions drafted by some textbook writers be so stringent that not a word is to be changed? Even the 10 Commandments handed down by God from atop Mount Sinai allow more flexibility in their wording.
Read the rest of this entry »
The big PTPTN blunder
Posted by Kit in Education, Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, UMNO on Sunday, 10 June 2012
— Stephen Ng
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 10, 2012
JUNE 10 — I have been following the news about the PTPTN, and had previously written about it as well.
The latest development by the minister of higher education, Khaled Nordin, is one of the worst of Umno’s political games.
From the shared script with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the victims were apparently the students and their parents.
This ploy did not take into consideration the younger generation of Malaysians who cannot afford the higher education under the present Barisan Nasional regime.
To play on their sentiments is something that most Malaysians will not forgive.
Sometimes, silence is golden. In this case, it only became worse when Khaled Nordin had the cheek to say that the freeze on PTPTN loans to Selangor-owned tertiary education institutions “was sparked by the Selangor government’s failure to find a permanent solution for providing free education.” Read the rest of this entry »
Jangan tunjukkan sangat sikap ‘inferiority’ itu
Posted by Kit in Education, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 10 June 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 10, 2012
10 JUN — Sampai bila pemimpin-pemimpin kerajaan (BN) hendak berperang dengan rakyat? Perbalahan tentang isu PTPTN berlarutan sehinggakan TS Muhyiddin dan Menteri Pendidikan Tinggi telah bertindak untuk menjadikan mahasiswa Universiti Selangor (UNISEL) mangsa pertembungan diantara kerajaan dan PR dengan melakukan tindakan yang paling bodoh (maaf kerana menggunakan istilah bodoh) yang dipamerkan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin setinggi Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri yang bertanggungjawab terhadap pendidikan tinggi negara.
Kalau kita amati secara halus ramai pemimpin yang pandai-pandai telah menjadi bodoh apabila menjadi pemimpin Umno Baru. Terlalu jelas yang pimpinan tertinggi Umno Baru yang mengaku untuk mendahului rakyat tidak mampu untuk mempertahankan janji-janji untuk menjadi pemimpin yang ‘magnanimous’ sepenuhnya jika dimandatkan oleh rakyat lagi sekali.
Membekukan permohonan pelajar UNISEL untuk mendapatkan PTPTN ini menunjukkan yang pemimpin-pemimpin yang terlibat sesungguhnya tidak mempunyai daya kepimpinan yang sejajar dengan cita-cita untuk menjadi pemimpin negara yang berangan-angan untuk menjadikan negara ini sebagai negara maju. Kemajuan negara bermula dengan kemajuan cara berfikir dan tindakan yang setanding dengan pemikiran pemimpin negara maju yang demokratik. Read the rest of this entry »
Schoolboy antics over PTPTN
Posted by Kit in Education, Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Saturday, 9 June 2012
— The Malaysian Insider
Jun 09, 2012
JUNE 9 — Are schoolboys in charge of education in Malaysia? It sure seems that way when Putrajaya’s education czars decide to sulk and pull back scholarships for those studying in Selangor’s Universiti Selangor (Unisel) this past week.
Only to flip flop, be wishy-washy, do a volte-face and overturn that emotional decision a day later. Is that how a government runs things? Aren’t these ministers — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin — an embarrassment to Datuk Seri Najib Razak?
They can’t even be gracious and admit their mistake. Take Khaled’s statement that Unisel’s appeal for National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loans to be restored showed that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) could not deliver its promise of free education.
Is that how a Barisan Nasional (BN) minister behaves? Use state facilities to prove a point? And let students seeking a better future be at his whim and fancy? Read the rest of this entry »
PTPTN/Unisel farce – half-past6 Cabinet, half-past6 DPM/Education Minister, half-past6 Higher Education Minister
The lifting of the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loan freeze for Universiti Selangor (Unisel) and Selangor International Islamic University College (Kuis) students is most welcome as it is downright wrong, immoral and criminal and should never have been imposed in the first place by a government which claims to live by the slogan of “People First, Performance Now”!
The question however is whether the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin would have the decency to apologise for such bullying and criminal breach of trust (cbt) tactics as they had publicly endorsed the unethical, vindictive and vengeful PTPTN freeze of loans to Unisel and Kuis students.
This is a pertinent question as it is only yesterday that the Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim launched his Ministry’s 1Malaysia moral guide extolling 21 moral values such as patience, discipline, respect, meritocracy, cleanliness, integrity, humility, courtesy, and loyalty.
Or is Rais’ 1Malaysia moral guide as stillborn as other 1Malaysia gimmicry, or are the Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders to be exempt from these 21 moral values as they are only meant for the common Malaysian populace? Read the rest of this entry »
How long more, Malaysians?
Posted by Kit in Education, Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, UMNO on Friday, 8 June 2012
by Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 08, 2012
JUNE 8 — Question: when do we know that a government policy or decision is dumb and ill-conceived?
When Muhyiddin Yassin and Noh Omar are in agreement that the decision is brilliant!
I am of course referring to the decision by the Higher Education Ministry to freeze PTPTN scholarships to Unisel students. The Umno government thinks that this move will turn students against Pakatan Rakyat and lay bare the opposition’s plan to scrap the PTPTN scheme if it wrests control of Parliament.
The thinking (if you can call it that) is that the students and their desperate parents will be so upset that they will turn out in droves to vote against Khalid Ibrahim’s government.
The freeze is wrong on so many levels that it ultimately tells us that Umno is desperate, bankrupt of ideas, deeply vindictive and morally wanting. More shockingly, it shows us that this government will go to extreme lengths to cling to power, even stir up violence should poll results not go its way.
Khaled Nordin, Muhyiddin and Noh refuse to accept certain facts: they serve the rakyat; that when the opposition put up alternative suggestions, they must counter these ideas through persuasion and that government funds belong to the rakyat. Read the rest of this entry »
PTPTN freeze a public breach of trust, Kit Siang tells PM
Posted by Kit in Education, Elections, Najib Razak on Friday, 8 June 2012
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 08, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Lim Kit Siang has called on the prime minister to put an end to the National Higher Education Fund Corporation’s (PTPTN) freeze on loans to Universiti Selangor (Unisel) applicants, saying there was no justification for the move.
The DAP parliamentary leader said today Datuk Seri Najib Razak should intervene and end the “politics of intimidation and bullying.”
“It is a criminal breach of trust. Public funds are meant for the interests of the public, not politicking,” Lim told reporters in Parliament.
“Barisan Nasional (BN) should not sacrifice the future of Unisel students; there is no excuse or justification for the freeze,” he added.
The Ipoh Timor MP said the loan freeze was an example of “power play” between Umno and BN and that it was a tactic to capture Selangor in the next general election.
“They (BN) have been in power too long; they have forgotten the meaning of trust.
“All Malaysians must deliver a very severe lesson to Umno and BN; their shelf life as government of the day has well past,” Lim stressed. Read the rest of this entry »
The Impact of Growth in International Schools
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Monday, 4 June 2012
by M. Bakri Musa
The government has gone beyond removing quotas, as with granting tax and other incentives, to encourage the growth of international schools. However, growth depends more on market forces, principally the demand which in turn is related to costs. Lower the cost and you expand the market. Reducing red tape, as with making it easy to get permits and secure visas, would lower costs far more effectively than any other move.
If there is a market and profit to be made, entrepreneurs will come in. That is the beauty and genius of the capitalist economy. I have no problem with education being “for profit”. That would be no different than the health and other sectors. Profit is just another measure of discipline, effectiveness, and productivity. Read the rest of this entry »
Removing Quotas in International Schools A Positive Development
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education, English on Sunday, 27 May 2012
by M. Bakri Musa
In striking contrast to the horrendously expensive and unbelievably stupid idea of sending our teacher-trainees to Kirby, the Ministry of Education’s other decision to remove quotas on local enrollment in international schools is very much welcomed and definitely positive. The Minister confidently assured us that because of the small number of students involved, the move will not impact our national schools. I respectfully disagree; his confidence is misplaced and analysis flawed. On the contrary, this measure will have a tremendous impact on our national schools and ultimately the nation, for good or bad depending on how it is managed.
Consider the liberalization of higher education instituted in 1996. The rationale was to increase access and save foreign exchange by keeping at home those who would have gone abroad. It achieved both, the most successful of government initiatives. And it did not cost a sen except for the pay of government lawyers who drafted the enabling legislation.
The policy’s impact however, went far beyond. It permanently and profoundly altered the academic landscape of our public universities. Their current emphasis on the use of English for example, is the consequence of the impact of these private universities. Local employers (other than governmental agencies of course) made it clear that they prefer these graduates over those from public universities because of their demonstrably superior skills in English.
There were initial attempts at imputing ugly racial motives to this preferential treatment of private university graduates as most of them were non-Malays. That worked, but only temporarily. Ultimately the horrible truth was exposed. That realization was the impetus to the current greater use of English in public universities, with their erstwhile nationalistic Vice-Chancellors now fully embracing the move. They had to; the pathetic sight of their unemployed graduates was a constant and painful reminder. Read the rest of this entry »
Resurrecting Kirby Is Fiscally Irresponsible
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Monday, 21 May 2012
It is incomprehensible that with the Ministry of Education still in the midst of its review of our schools, the Minister and his Deputy saw fit to announce two decisions that could potentially have a profound impact on the system. The first, announced by the Minister, would resurrect the old Kirby/Brinsford Lodge program of the 1950s, and the second, announced by his Deputy, would remove the current quotas on local enrollment in international schools.
Before analyzing the two decisions, it is worth pondering as to why they were made before the completion of this “exhaustive review.” A cynical interpretation would be that the current “review” is nothing more than a charade rather than a serious deliberative process. If that were to be so, then it would be a terrible insult to those distinguished Malaysians who have been co-opted or have volunteered to serve on the panel. On a moral level, it would also be an unconscionable fraud perpetrated upon citizens, especially parents who have been banking on the review to improve our schools.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reforming Education: Futility of the Exercise
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education, English, Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday, 7 May 2012
by Bakri Musa
Last of Six Parts
Earlier I reviewed the challenges faced by three groups of students who happen to be mostly if not exclusively Malays: kampong students, those in residential schools, and those in academic limbo following their Form Five.
There is another group, this time also exclusively Malays, being poorly served by our system of education: students in Islamic schools. These schools see their mission as primarily producing ulamas and religious functionaries; they are more seminaries, with indoctrination masquerading as education. They are more like Pakistan’s madrasahs and Indonesia’s pesantrens.
I would prefer that they be more like America’s faith-based schools which regularly outperform public ones. They are also cheaper and produce their share of America’s future scientists, engineers and executives. Religion is only one subject in these schools, not the all-consuming curriculum. Thus they attract many non-Christians. Contrast that to Islamic schools in Malaysia.
If Malaysia were to serve the aforementioned four groups of students well, that would go a long way in ameliorating the “Malay problem.” Read the rest of this entry »
PTPTN loan is good, but …
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Tuesday, 24 April 2012
— Stephen Ng
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 24, 2012
APRIL 24 — It was on November 1, 1997 when the National Higher Education Loan (PTPTN) scheme started giving out loans. At that point in time, private colleges were starting to bloom, and foreign universities such as Monash University and Nottingham University were also invited to set up their campuses in Malaysia.
The PTPTN was created to be a rolling fund to provide loans to students who could not afford tertiary education, because very few banks in those days were willing to provide the loans. Even banks were charging higher interest fees for students who opted for the loans compared to the PTPTN.
Besides, the cost of private education is higher than that offered by the public sector. This is understandable, because they are linked with international universities and were catering to a generation of students who would have otherwise opted to go overseas. There was also no government funding to make available teaching equipment in these private universities.
I remember former Health Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek visiting a medical faculty in a private college. He made such a big fuss, complaining that the facilities for the newly set up medical faculty were not on par with the public universities. In my heart, I asked: “In the first place, how much has the government provided in soft loans to these private colleges?” Dr Chua, of course, never helped to fight for government funding to boost private education sector.
As I see it now, with the exception of certain colleges, the private education sector has in fact met the aspirations of the young people of Malaysia. Because of the PTPTN, many students have been able to pursue their education. Otherwise, they would not have been able to continue their education overseas, or even locally in the public universities due to the quota system.
My question therefore is why is the PTPTN now the subject of ridicule? Read the rest of this entry »
Reforming Education: Post-Form Five Options
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Tuesday, 24 April 2012
by M. Bakri Musa
(Fifth of Six Parts)
In the previous four essays I reviewed the particular challenges facing students in rural and residential schools. This essay delves into the six-month period in which our university-bound and other students find themselves in academic limbo following their Sijil Persekutuan Malaysia (SPM) examination.
In reviewing the recent SPM results, Education Minister Muhyiddin did not once pause to ponder what those nearly half a million 17-year-old Malaysians were doing since they sat for their test last November. These are the youngsters infesting our shopping malls, roaring around on their motorcycles, or otherwise getting into mischief. For over six months they are unable to plan for their future. They cannot even enjoy their break as their future is uncertain. The government’s myriad post-SPM programs like Sixth Form, matrikulasi, polytechnic institutes, and teachers’ colleges depend on the SPM scores, and therefore do not begin until the middle of the year.
This long period of uncertainty and inactivity during a critical period in a teenager’s development is unhealthy. The expression “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop” is never more true than for teenagers. Even if they could ward off the devil’s machination, with the long hiatus would come considerable attrition of knowledge and good study habits. This is particularly critical for those aspiring to go to good universities. Read the rest of this entry »
PTPTN: We didn’t start the fire
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Thursday, 19 April 2012
by Praba Ganesan
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 19, 2012
APRIL 19 — When I jumped off the bus at noon to register at UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) not many noticed the scraggly looking teenager with a mega-large bag. It was so large; it had clothes, a chess set and even a typewriter. It was the early Nineties and Kurt Cobain was alive making music.
Every student had about 20 family members coming to send them off. It was that big a deal, going to a public university. There were no private universities and the private “colleges” were only offering twinning programmes at best.
The old ethos: few go to university and many after secondary education join the employment market.
This changed with the great expansion before the millennium, around the time the PTPTN national loan system came around.
Mahathir’s Malaysia was to be a developed nation in record time, and millions of graduates have to line up and march in unison as people in the capital cheered them on with confetti drowning the uninitiated.
This vision required universities opening almost every month, in every state, in every way and many tuition centres around the Klang Valley turning into university colleges. Major government-linked companies were turning their training centres into universities, and Mahathir Mohamad was still riding horses.
The PTPTN answered the money issue. And now on the table sits the proposal to abolish it.
You don’t have to agree or disagree, but you have to realise that the issue is not straightforward. The overdrive the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is in to respond to is the indicator. Read the rest of this entry »
Reforming Education: Part 4 of 6: Enhancing Residential Schools
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Monday, 16 April 2012
Fourth of Six Parts
My first three essays dealt with the challenges facing kampong schools and how we could leverage technology to alleviate those problems. I discussed enhancing the educational opportunities through improving the schools, recruiting superior teachers, and enriching the curriculum. Failure to do so would doom these unfortunate students to perpetual mediocrity and poverty, with dire consequences for them as well as the rest of Malaysia. This essay explores ways of maximizing the potential of residential schools. Again here as with kampong schools, we are dealing primarily with Malay students.
Our residential schools get the top students, have the best teachers, and consume more than their fair share of resources. Yet their aggregate performance has been underwhelming. When I visit top American campuses, the Malaysians I meet there are from other than our supposedly elite residential schools. That is the most telling indicator.
Malaysia’s oldest residential school, Malay College Kuala Kangsar, only recently (June 2011) started a matriculation program, the International Baccalaureate. Despite the luminaries on its board and the institution’s special status, it took a full decade to implement the program. Imagine the glacial pace at lesser institutions!
Read the rest of this entry »
Guan Eng holds forth on Economics 101
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics, Education, Lim Guan Eng, Penang on Sunday, 15 April 2012
Terence Netto | Apr 14, 2012
Malaysiakini
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng gave a little homily on institutional economics on the occasion of state government awards to top students and schools in the 2011 STPM examination.
Lim told his audience of proud parents and top-scoring students at the award ceremony in Komtar today that the Pakatan Rakyat government’s clean and effective administration conduced to higher rewards for its citizens.
As example, he cited the RM500 rewards to the 50 top-finishing students in the state in the STMP examination of last year, up from RM400 given to top scorers in 2010.
The monetary awards were inaugurated in 2009, a year after the DAP-led Pakatan government came to power in Penang.
“The reason we can give more this year is simple: we run a government that is not corrupt,” he said.
“Because our governance is competent, accountable and transparent, we can show a surplus of income over expenditure enabling us to plough back progressively higher benefits to the people,” he explained. Read the rest of this entry »
Guan Eng: Minimum wage not enough to improve living standards
Posted by Kit in Education, Labour, Lim Guan Eng, Najib Razak on Saturday, 14 April 2012
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 14, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — Lim Guan Eng told Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today that his much-awaited minimum wage policy was insufficient to improve living standards without total reforms to the country’s economy, education and workforce policies.
The Penang Chief Minister said the new wage floor of RM1,100, to be announced this April 30, must come hand in hand with higher productivity jobs, increased female participation in the workforce and “accelerated structural reforms” to the economy aimed at reducing corruption and plucking leakages.
However, Lim added that although the new wage floor to be announced by Najib was purportedly due to opposition pressure, DAP would welcome the announcement.
Malaysians, he added, have “high expectations” of Najib.
“Malaysia is in sore need of structural economic reforms to make us more competitive, transparent, efficient as well as reduce leakages caused by wastage and corruption.
“Structural economic reforms such as open competitive tenders, full disclosure of contracts and personal assets of Ministers as well as a performance-based delivery system must carried out,” he said in his Tamil and Vaisakhi new year message today. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia will need to improve its performance in education
Posted by Kit in Education, Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday, 9 April 2012
— Tunku Munawirah Putra
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 09, 2012
APRIL 9 — Our deputy prime minister/minister of education announced that the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitive Index (GCI) report 2011-2012 for Malaysia ranks the quality of our education system at No. 14 out of 142 countries. Malaysia should be proud of this accomplishment which is above many developed countries including the United Kingdom, the US and Germany.
We really should give ourselves a pat on the back for being ranked at par with these First World nations. But instead, many have voiced their concern over the misrepresentation or misinterpretation of the data by the minister. Many are not amused but aghast. Read the rest of this entry »
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