Archive for category Education
Race quotas, politics led to falling UM standards, says World Bank study
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Monday, 17 October 2011
by Leslie Lau
Executive Editor
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 17, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — A World Bank publication has found that standards at Universiti Malaya have fallen and the institution has been kept at a disadvantage because of race-based admission quotas and political interference in university management.
In contrast, Singapore’s decision to prioritise research, keeping English as the medium of instruction and a merit-based admissions policy have all contributed to the success of the National University of Singapore’s success, according to “The Road to Academic Excellence,” which studies what contributes to a world-class research university.
The study also noted that Malaysian secondary school students are not well prepared for tertiary education.
It points out that the Malaysian education system promotes rote learning, conformity and uniformity rather than fresh and creative thinking. Read the rest of this entry »
University ranking and intellectual honesty
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Tuesday, 11 October 2011
By AB Sulaiman | Oct 10, 2011
Malaysiakini
The Times Higher Education World University Ranking has recently announced the results of its survey and the ranking of universities from all over the world for 2011-2012.
In the past, some of our universities have done modestly well, slotted in the low 200 -300 positions.
But for the first time, none did any better than 400 this year. We Malaysians have every right to be stumped. What has gone miserably, pathetically, pitifully wrong?
We all know that in this country, education as an institution has broken down, but surely not this badly!
Many concerned citizens like (DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, usually the first to highlight the issue to the public domain) have voiced their opinions.
Read the rest of this entry »
No Malaysian university in Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Thursday, 6 October 2011
The release today of the Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12, where not a single Malaysian university is included, has punctured the elation and euphoria just two months ago over the QS 200 World University Rankings 2011/12 which saw University of Malaya making to the top 200 Top Universities moving 40 places to 167 compared to 2010.
In the QS World University Rankings 2011/12 released in September, four other Malaysian universities slid down the rankings –University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ranked 279 this year compared to 263 in 2010; Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) ranked 335 (309 last year); Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) ranked 358 (319 last year) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) at between 401 and 450 (365 last year).
But in the just-released THE 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12, none of the Malaysian universities made it into the placings.
For the first time, Harvard (with Stanford) is at number two, failing to take the top spot in the list’s eight-year history when California Institute for Technology is named the best university in the world.
The rest of the Top Ten spots are Oxford (4), Princeton (5), Cambridge (6), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (70, Imperial College London (8), Chicago (9) and California (Berkeley) (10). Read the rest of this entry »
Allow the re-introduction of English medium schools
— by Hussaini Abdul Karim
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 04, 2011
OCT 4 — Our New Education Policy, introduced in the early 70s and revised two or three times over the last few years, allows for national-type Chinese and Tamil schools where the mediums of instruction are Chinese and Tamil, respectively, up to secondary school level besides the national primary and secondary schools where the medium of instruction is Bahasa Malaysia.
All students are required to sit for the SPM examination in Form Five and Bahasa Malaysia is offered in all schools at all levels and it is a must-pass subject in order for students to qualify for the UPSR, PMR and the SPM. Looking at it, our New Education Policy is almost perfect. What is lacking, to make it perfect, is that the government does not allow national-type English schools to be set up. Otherwise, our New Education Policy and the whole school system would be the envy of almost every country in the world including some developed countries.
It is difficult to fathom why Chinese and Tamil are allowed as mediums of instruction in national-type vernacular schools, but the government does not allow the re-introduction of English-medium schools. Even the popular PPSMI syllabus where English was used to teach mathematics and science subjects will be abolished and come next year, all students in national primary and secondary schools will start with the all-new MBMMBI syllabus where the medium of instruction is Bahasa Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Why we need English-medium national-type schools
— Lan Boon Leong
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 25, 2011
SEPT 25 — It was reported in the press last month that the Education Ministry is sticking by its decision to abolish the PPSMI policy of teaching and learning Science and Mathematics in English.
The abolishment of the policy means that the two subjects will be taught solely in Bahasa Malaysia in the national schools, and solely in Mandarin or Tamil in the national-type schools.
Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, the Deputy Education Minister, said he and many other academics believe the two subjects need to be taught in the students’ mother tongues.
UNESCO, in fact, advocates mother-tongue education for all subjects because children learn better in their mother tongue. However, mother-tongue education, although desirable, will make the national and national-type schools even more ethnically polarised.
Moreover, there are many Malaysian children of diverse ethnic background — Malays included — whose mother tongue or first language is English. But there are presently no English-medium national-type schools to accommodate them. Aren’t these students disadvantaged compared to their peers whose mother tongue is Bahasa Malaysia or Mandarin or Tamil? Read the rest of this entry »
Master the English language to be world class
By Hussaini Abdul Karim
August 27, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
AUG 27 — It is very pleasing and most delightful to the ears to hear many non-Malay Malaysians, both young and old (except maybe some of the older ones) speaking and writing in perfect Bahasa Malaysia, some without even a hint of an accent whatsoever, in the case of the former.
The country’s New Education Policy to switch from English to Bahasa Malaysia introduced and implemented in the early 70s must have done wonders. With the introduction of new laws, rules and regulations, the policy makers have found a very effective way to teach the national language which is now widely used and accepted throughout the country at every level including in the home. Read the rest of this entry »
History or Soviet-style propaganda? That is the question
Posted by Kit in Education, History, nation building on Monday, 15 August 2011
by Andrew Aeria
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 15, 2011
AUG 15 — If anyone from the Ministry of Education held an honest, open and non-patronising discussion with our secondary schoolchildren on the subject of history as it is presently taught in school, they would discover that a huge majority of students view it as a painfully boring and utterly worthless subject.
They would also discover that students learn practically nothing from the subject. Instead, students only force themselves to memorise vacuous facts about people and events merely to pass their exams; an indoctrination exercise that defeats the whole purpose of why we educate our children in the first place.
I should know. I taught an introductory-level university course, “Malaysian Social History” to undergraduates for a few years. And to my astonishment, I discovered how intellectually and emotionally impoverished my undergraduates were about history. Not that they had not studied and even passed the subject with flying colours in their SPM/STPM exams, but because what they had previously memorised in school was simply not worth remembering! Stunned by their lack of interest in the subject, I examined the current school history syllabus and its teaching methods. I discovered to my horror and dismay that it is presently more predisposed to Soviet-style propaganda instead of being a subject that nurtures a passionate appreciation of our rich heritage and common humanity. Read the rest of this entry »
Why can Mara teach Maths and Science in English?
G Vinod
Free Malaysia Today
August 10, 2011
The government wants to abolish the teaching of Maths and Science in English next year but Mara junior colleges will teach the subjects in English under the Cambridge programme.
PETALING JAYA: Even Mara understands the importance of English. Their junior colleges have decided to offer Cambridge programme, said Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (Page).
Page chairperson Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said in a statement this showed that even Mara, which largely caters for rural Malays, understood the importance of the English language.
On Saturday, Bernama reported that Mara would be offering the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education programme, equivalent to an O-Level certificate, at all 45 Mara Junior Science Colleges (MRSM) in Malaysia by 2016.
Currently, Mara director-general Ibrahim Ahmad said, the programme is being offered at the Tun Adbul Razak MRSM in Pekan, Pahang. Read the rest of this entry »
Islamization of Education
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education, Islam on Monday, 8 August 2011
by Bakri Musa
Chapter 9: Islam in Malay Life
Reform in Islam
There was a time when religion did not have any role in the Malaysian education system. Public schools were completely secular. There were some Christian missionary schools during colonial times, but they did not attract many Malay pupils. Malay parents were fearful that their children would be converted, a not unreasonable anxiety given the proselytizing fervor of those early missionaries. Following independence, religion was still kept out of the schools. There were Islamic schools but these were private, small, and mainly in rural areas. They catered exclusively to children of poor villagers. Their mission too was equally modest: teaching the basic rituals of Islam. Typically they were the one-teacher schools, the madrasah. Not much was expected and not much was delivered. I briefly attended one of them.
In light of the 9-11 attacks, there is much attention paid to the goings-on in these madrasah. They are less educational institutions and more indoctrination centers. They breed the kind of fanatical adherents to the faith – rigid and intolerant – that are the bane of so many Muslim societies. Read the rest of this entry »
Set up a national education reform consultative council
Toh Kin Woon | Aug 3, 11
Malaysiakini
LLG Cultural Development Centre is highly concerned about the announcement by the Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin in mid July that the ministry was readying a study on a complete revamp of the existing education system.
The report is to be submitted to the cabinet for approval end of this year.
Education reform is of paramount importance. Any country proposing to review its national education system as a whole, will inevitably have to study thoroughly the shortcomings of the current education system, and to consult the opinions of various stake holders in relation to education reform.
Read the rest of this entry »
The Wisdom of the Students
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Thursday, 7 July 2011
In a remarkable display of professorial prowess, University of Malaya Vice-Chancellor Ghauth Jasmon recently engaged his students in a two-hour dialogue on what it would take to make their university great. With humility, pedagogical skills, and great stage presence, he enthralled his audience while imparting an important message. They in turn were not at all shy in telling him the challenges they faced. It was truly a dialogue, not the usual one-way pedantic pronouncements.
Those students had a clear message not only for their Vice-Chancellor but also the country’s leaders and policy makers: Listen to us!
The session was even more remarkable as it was held after lunch, typically siesta time in the tropics. Anyone who has faced a classroom of students at that time of day knows how difficult it is to get their attention. Yet there they were – professor and students – intellectually engaging each other, interspersed with frequent cheers and laughter.
Read the rest of this entry »
Ten conditions for Umno
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Corruption, Education, Elections, Hishammuddin, Media, Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 6 July 2011
by Bahaman Abdullah
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 05, 2011
JULY 5 — Since Ibrahim Ali is so fond of giving everyone ultimatums (the latest being to MCA, Gerakan and Ambiga Sreenivasan), I suggest we give Umno and Najib Razak a list of 10 conditions to be met if he wants the support of urban Malaysia.
1) Distance yourself publicly from Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa. Failure to do so will be taken as a sign that all the garbage from Ibrahim is endorsed by the Umno president and his kuncu-kuncu.
2) Stop using divide and rule tactics to keep Malaysians apart. The only reason why BN worried about Bersih is that this election reform movement appears to have brought Malaysians of different races and religious groups together.
3) Tackle corruption and start by investigating cabinet ministers, senior politicians for living way, way beyond their means. Read the rest of this entry »
LKS backs Sabah Speaker on education autonomy
Jul 3, 11 | MalaysiaKini
DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang voiced support for Sabah Speaker Salleh Said’s call for the state education department to be given more power and autonomy.
Salleh had said reportedly said that many school buildings in Sabah are in a state of disrepair and educational projects are carried out only haphazardly due to the need to refer even simple matters to the education ministry headquarters in Putrajaya.
This, said the speaker, was jeopardising the government’s efforts in developing education in Sabah. Read the rest of this entry »
Muhyiddin should fully devolve Education Ministry powers to Sabah State Department
The Sabah Speaker, Datuk Seri Salleh Tun Said has called for the Sabah State Education Department to be given more power and autonomy.
Salleh said many school buildings in the State are in need of repair and educational projects are not carried out systematically due to having to refer simple matters to Putrajaya jeopardising the Government’s efforts in developing education in Sabah.
The Sabah State Assembly Speaker has received the support of the Sabah State Education Director Datuk Dr. Muhiddin Yusin who has joined in the call for the state education department to be given greater empowerment on decision-making and the implementation of development projects, especially maintenance, training and recruitment of teachers. Read the rest of this entry »
Attracting the Best To Teaching
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Thursday, 30 June 2011
Early this year the US Department of Education, together with OECD and the Asia Society, convened a summit of education ministers, master teachers, and union leaders from 15 countries. The theme was on attracting, training and retaining the best teachers. Those were no ordinary countries participating; their students had consistently excelled in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).
America has some of the finest private and public schools, while its colleges and universities regularly dominate anybody’s list of the best. Yet there was US Education Secretary Duncan sponsoring this symposium and its opening speaker. That reflects the seriousness with which American leaders and policymakers consider education. It also shows their humility and commitment to learn from the best. I long for such traits in our leaders and educators.
The core assumption of the summit is that you cannot have excellent schools without excellent teachers. “Great teachers are not just born that way,” Secretary Duncan noted in his opening remarks. “It takes a high-quality system for recruiting, training, retaining, and supporting teachers over the course of their careers to develop an effective teaching force,” he continued.
Read the rest of this entry »
MP doubts PSD will implement Najib directives
Posted by Kit in Education, Najib Razak, public service on Thursday, 23 June 2011
By S Pathmawathy | Jun 23, 11
Malaysiakini
A DAP parliamentarian has lauded Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s announcement of granting highly-coveted Public Service Department (PSD) at pre-university level.
In welcoming the move, Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) described it as a way to “resolve the perennial scholarship conundrum”.
Every year many top ranking students complain of double standards in the awarding of PSD scholarships to students excelling in their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exams.
Read the rest of this entry »
Improving The Odds For Our Disadvantaged Students
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Thursday, 23 June 2011
Students from a disadvantaged background face many challenges; thus it is not a surprise that they lag academically. This has always been true and accepted as normal. The consequence to this acceptance is that the students’ disadvantaged background becomes too ready an excuse for teachers and policymakers not to address the issue of widening educational achievement gap, blaming instead such factors as poverty and lack of parental involvement.
While those are relevant, there is much that schools, teachers and policymakers can do to turn disadvantaged students into “resilient” ones. A recent OECD study, Against The Odds. Disadvantaged Students Who Succeed in School, (PDF) confirms this. “Resilient” students, as defined by the study, are those from a disadvantaged socio-economic background relative to students in their country, and attain high scores by international standards.
Read the rest of this entry »
Scholarships for those who earn and need it
Yap Mun Ching
The Sun
23 June 2011
AFTER many years of opaque silence, the debate over tertiary education scholarships has finally boiled over with public demands for the list of renegade Public Services Department Scholarship (PSD) holders to be published and at least one father threatening to sue a corporate foundation for not giving his son a scholarship to Cambridge. It is a timely debate and one that stands at the heart of the transparency and accountability pledge of the government.
To find our way out of this mess, a useful starting point is the criteria for allocating scholarships which has been veiled under much secrecy. In a letter to the NST, the chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, stated the criteria as follows: academic achievement (20%), racial composition (60%), East Malaysia bumiputra (10%) and socially disadvantaged (10%).
If this is accurate, we can trace many of the controversies over allocation of scholarship funds to this set of guidelines. If only 20% of the national scholarship budget is used to award meritocracy; it is not surprising then that the majority of scholars that we turn out are of mediocre achievement. If only 10% is allocated to support poor students; no wonder movements like Hindraf strike a chord. It is uncertain if the bulk of the 70% of racial allocation is made with any secondary criteria (e.g. meritocratic and means-tested) as well, but it is galling for this writer to recall the PSD and GLC scholarship holders who had sufficient means to purchase vehicles and designer goods throughout their study abroad. Read the rest of this entry »
Iban language: Pick the right candidates
FMT Staff
June 18, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today
KUCHING: The Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) has chastised the authorities for its nonchalant approach to the Iban language.
SADIA chairman Edward Manggah said the Iban language was not like any other subject.
“The teachers must have the basics. You cannot just pick people randomly and make them teach,” he said in response to the latest controversy involving the selection of candidates for Bahasa Iban courses. Read the rest of this entry »
Vernacular Education In Malaysia
By Zhi Wei Lee
31 May, 2011 | loyarburok.com
A consideration of the debate on vernacular schools, and the important roles that both national and vernacular schools have to play in Malaysia.
The debate on vernacular schools in Malaysia is often misleading, unconstructive and damaging. I say this because much discourse and opinions about vernacular schools have a dangerous tendency to suffer from oversimplification; you are either for the vernacular school, or you are for its abolition. This is little more than politicised banter — on one hand, it preaches to the choir; but on the other, it unnecessarily stirs up divisive communal frustrations. We must acknowledge that this recurring controversy is deeply-rooted in the convoluted web that is the fabric of Malaysian society — some of which our own doing, others an indirect result of British colonialism. Either way, its complexity demands greater attention and certainly, deeper analysis. Read the rest of this entry »
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Education category.
