“Education is the best provision for old age”
Aristotle
Education is a very important aspect of a person’s life whether one admits it or not. Education can empower a person to earn a living and in the process, sometimes enable a person to reach the pinnacles of ones dream. Education is also an essential tool enshrined in the doctrine of basic human rights and no citizen should be deprived of it by its government. After saying that, it is therefore of utmost importance for a country to ensure the education system is well in place to produce capable and industrious citizens to build the country’s future and in the process providing its citizens of their basic rights. In Malaysia, there is no exception to the rule. However, the argument point here is whether the education system in Malaysia is effective in the said objectives?
No doubt there is some foundation being laid by the British during the colonization days. In a way our education system does bear some resemblance to the British. However, along the years since the 50s, have our education system evolved to meet the needs of a new millennium? It cannot be denied that there have been some changes but whether they are sufficient are another matter altogether. An indication of the status of Malaysia’s education system can be seen by numerous complaints by potential employers, mostly foreign based companies that Malaysian graduates are definitely not up to mark in terms of essential skills level. Academic knowledge is certainly not an issue since we can see that there are many top scorers among Malaysians in public examinations. What is the complaint about then? Academic knowledge is important, but the capabilities to execute it effectively are equally important. What is the use of having profound knowledge but unable to express it when it matters the most in the workplace.
There is too much emphasis on scoring perfect marks in examinations. Students in their early years are taught that the best students are the ones that score the highest marks and the most As in examinations. With this in mind, students’ priorities are distorted whereby they concentrate more on scoring marks rather than understanding the implications of each subjects being taught. In other words, we are actually training mindless robots with good memories but not an effective employee in the working industry. Most of the graduates have difficulties in communicating effectively in simple English in the workplace for daily routine work, what more during presentations. Some do not even get past the job interviewing process. Judging by all these issues, the government should realize that there is indeed something wrong with our education system. Rather than being in denial, concrete actions should be taken to rectify this matter before it gets much worse.
The first instance is the usage of English language to teach Mathematics and Science. This is actually a correct step forward but there have been reservations by certain quarters mostly originated from nationalism feelings that since Bahasa Malaysia is the national language therefore should be used instead. Not to belittle our national language, but how many countries in the world conduct their business in Bahasa Malaysia? What is the point of learning a subject in the national language when the terms to be used in the workplace later are mostly English? How will our graduates be able to adapt and even to compete if all their schooling days’ terms are not used at all. They basically have to spend much of their early working years just to adapt to the new terms being used! Our graduates will lose competitive edge this way.
The other grouses will be the treatment of students in terms of scholarships being offered. There have been complaints from the public that this process does not constitute a transparent affair. It is even seen by certain quarters that there are some elements of racial biased within the system. It is truly heart wrenching to read about top achievers not being able to pursue their preferred courses or even to secure a scholarship in the process. The Malaysian government has always been vocal to attract Malaysian talents from overseas to serve the country for patriotic reasons but failed to realize that it is the government itself shuns the potential talents in the first place. It is imperative for the government to realize that affirmative actions are no doubt important for a multi racial country in terms of nation building but there must not be any compromise on quality for certain critical industries and the best minds should be considered to serve in these industries foremost. After saying that, the Public Services Department should also heed the public’s call to be transparent in the matter in order to put to rest all uncertainties regarding the award of scholarships for potential nation builders of the future. Meritocracy is a critical element to be assessed here for we must ensure the best minds are given the tasks accordingly.
The Malaysian education system is not entirely flawed in that sense but there is definitely some room for improvements. The main objective of education should not be lost in some political playground. Education is to empower people to earn a living and in the process able to contribute effectively to the growth of a nation.
Aristotle
Education is a very important aspect of a person’s life whether one admits it or not. Education can empower a person to earn a living and in the process, sometimes enable a person to reach the pinnacles of ones dream. Education is also an essential tool enshrined in the doctrine of basic human rights and no citizen should be deprived of it by its government. After saying that, it is therefore of utmost importance for a country to ensure the education system is well in place to produce capable and industrious citizens to build the country’s future and in the process providing its citizens of their basic rights. In Malaysia, there is no exception to the rule. However, the argument point here is whether the education system in Malaysia is effective in the said objectives?
No doubt there is some foundation being laid by the British during the colonization days. In a way our education system does bear some resemblance to the British. However, along the years since the 50s, have our education system evolved to meet the needs of a new millennium? It cannot be denied that there have been some changes but whether they are sufficient are another matter altogether. An indication of the status of Malaysia’s education system can be seen by numerous complaints by potential employers, mostly foreign based companies that Malaysian graduates are definitely not up to mark in terms of essential skills level. Academic knowledge is certainly not an issue since we can see that there are many top scorers among Malaysians in public examinations. What is the complaint about then? Academic knowledge is important, but the capabilities to execute it effectively are equally important. What is the use of having profound knowledge but unable to express it when it matters the most in the workplace.
There is too much emphasis on scoring perfect marks in examinations. Students in their early years are taught that the best students are the ones that score the highest marks and the most As in examinations. With this in mind, students’ priorities are distorted whereby they concentrate more on scoring marks rather than understanding the implications of each subjects being taught. In other words, we are actually training mindless robots with good memories but not an effective employee in the working industry. Most of the graduates have difficulties in communicating effectively in simple English in the workplace for daily routine work, what more during presentations. Some do not even get past the job interviewing process. Judging by all these issues, the government should realize that there is indeed something wrong with our education system. Rather than being in denial, concrete actions should be taken to rectify this matter before it gets much worse.
The first instance is the usage of English language to teach Mathematics and Science. This is actually a correct step forward but there have been reservations by certain quarters mostly originated from nationalism feelings that since Bahasa Malaysia is the national language therefore should be used instead. Not to belittle our national language, but how many countries in the world conduct their business in Bahasa Malaysia? What is the point of learning a subject in the national language when the terms to be used in the workplace later are mostly English? How will our graduates be able to adapt and even to compete if all their schooling days’ terms are not used at all. They basically have to spend much of their early working years just to adapt to the new terms being used! Our graduates will lose competitive edge this way.
The other grouses will be the treatment of students in terms of scholarships being offered. There have been complaints from the public that this process does not constitute a transparent affair. It is even seen by certain quarters that there are some elements of racial biased within the system. It is truly heart wrenching to read about top achievers not being able to pursue their preferred courses or even to secure a scholarship in the process. The Malaysian government has always been vocal to attract Malaysian talents from overseas to serve the country for patriotic reasons but failed to realize that it is the government itself shuns the potential talents in the first place. It is imperative for the government to realize that affirmative actions are no doubt important for a multi racial country in terms of nation building but there must not be any compromise on quality for certain critical industries and the best minds should be considered to serve in these industries foremost. After saying that, the Public Services Department should also heed the public’s call to be transparent in the matter in order to put to rest all uncertainties regarding the award of scholarships for potential nation builders of the future. Meritocracy is a critical element to be assessed here for we must ensure the best minds are given the tasks accordingly.
The Malaysian education system is not entirely flawed in that sense but there is definitely some room for improvements. The main objective of education should not be lost in some political playground. Education is to empower people to earn a living and in the process able to contribute effectively to the growth of a nation.
