More Action, Less Blueprint!
More Action, Less Blueprint!
(First posted onMlaaysia-Today.net on January9, 2007)
On returning from the Commonwealth Education Ministers’ Meeting in South Africa, Hishamuddin Hussein declared himself satisfied with our school system. This is what happens when you keep comparing Malaysia to the likes of Kenya and Uganda.
Hishamuddin would get a more realistic assessment by standing on the causeway one school morning and watching the stream of buses and private cars carrying our young to schools in Singapore. Or, by simply looking at the stacks of applications on his desk from Malaysians wishing to enroll their children in local international schools.
The deficiencies are glaring; there is no need for yet another National Education Blueprint, 2006-2010, as he is proposing. You would need an eye that would not see to be blind of these realities. Hishamuddin obviously did not read the earlier Education Blueprint 2001-2010 commissioned by his predecessor. It was quickly made irrelevant with the subsequent introduction of the teaching of science and mathematics in English. That showed how far removed from reality those planners were. There is no assurance that current bureaucrats are any wiser or more informed.
The Minister would be better off donating to some poor rural schools the precious funds that would have been expended on the new Blueprint. My brief essay here will tell him what is wrong with our schools, and more importantly, how to remedy them. If Hishamuddin is more ambitious, he could read my book on the same subject, An Education System Worthy of Malaysia.
The problems are many and overwhelming; a minister could easily be paralyzed by the sheer magnitude and dauntingness. Indeed many have been sidetracked and distracted by such trivia as what attire girls should wear to partake in sports.
I will cite three major issues; attend to them and you would make our schools better.
First is the appalling level of English fluency, science literacy, and mathematical skills of our students. Second are the overcrowded and dilapidated facilities, with double sessions now the norm. Third is the stultifying curriculum that emphasizes rote learning and undue obsession on examinations. Imagine being tested for up to 15 subjects in Year 11!
Poor English, Science, and Mathematics
Our leaders have impressed upon us the importance of English, science, and mathematics, but they have done little beyond that. It is appalling that no public university has a dedicated Department of English. Where do these leaders think Malaysia would get its graduate English teachers? If our deeds match our words, I would expect each public university to have a major Department of English.
Our esteemed professors too have remained strangely detached; perhaps they are still waiting for directives from the Ministry. So much for independent initiative and thought! They could have made English mandatory for first year students, and English fluency a prerequisite for graduate work. That is within their authority.
If our academics are strangely detached, the political leadership is no better. The Ministry has yet to require a pass in MUET (Malaysian University English Test) for university admission. The reluctance is purely political. Those most disinclined to study English are Malays; they would be the most impacted by such a policy, hence the politically expedient solution. Unfortunately it merely compounds the problem and delays the day of reckoning. When these students graduate they are not wanted in the marketplace.
One prudent solution would be to give those who are otherwise qualified for admission but for their low MUET score a year to remedy their deficiency. That would send a very strong message to them to expend the necessary time and effort to learn the language.
To its credit, Universiti Utara makes its undergraduates take some courses in English. Universiti Putra also made a similar move by teaching some courses (mostly in the sciences) in English. However when some discredited politicians out for their last hurrah raised a stink, the university authorities quickly backed down. They did not have the courage of their conviction to fight those detractors.
The more rational solution would be to provide competent English teachers. Despite the widely acknowledged shortage of such teachers, there is as yet not a single teachers’ college using English as its medium of instruction. Such institutions are needed for training future teachers of English, science, and mathematics. This again demonstrates the gulf between deeds and actions, and between aspirations and reality.
Such English-medium colleges would also attract brighter students who are fully aware that the education they would receive is valued in the marketplace.
Another effective way to increase English fluency would be to teach Islamic Studies in English. Malay students have to take the subject. Next to Arabic, English is the most important language in Islam.
Poor Facilities and Stultifying Curriculum
Hishamuddin is oblivious of the poor physical conditions of our schools. The chronic lament is lack of funds. Yet Malaysia spends generously on education, but the funds are less for improving the schools and more as public works projects for Bumiputra contractors. That bloats the costs and produces shoddy workmanship, as evidenced by buildings collapsing soon after they are completed.
Had there been competitive biddings, those funds would go a long way and our students (and nation) would have been better served. One residential school bought a video microscope, but had to do so through the government-appointed vendor who happened to be the local UMNO operative. The result? I could buy the same equipment for one-tenth the price. Multiply such leakages a thousand times and you can appreciate why our schools are so poor.
The poor facilities are matched only by the constrictive and unimaginative curriculum. Visit any classroom, elementary, secondary, or undergraduate, and one is struck by the lifelessness. There is no spark. Communication is strictly one way. Students are treated less as intellects to be sharpened, more as dustbins to be filled with dogmas. This is most pronounced in Islamic Studies where instructors are not just mere teachers but Allah’s representatives. They could do no wrong, and of course you would never dare ask any questions.
The obsession with examinations means “teaching to the test,” leaving little room for individual creativity. Come testing time, the students regurgitate what had been force-fed to them. The best students are those who could vomit out the original contents, preferably unchanged and undigested.
Why not limit the number of subjects on national examinations to six per student? To further reduce the obsession on examinations, make the student’s year round work a major factor in the final evaluation.
Texas is relying more on local evaluations by teachers and will accept for university admission the top ten percent from each school regardless of their standardized test scores. What the Texans are saying is that they trust the judgment of local teachers as much as those remote examiners.
One positive and unanticipated consequence is that shrewd parents are now enrolling their children in previously “non-competitive” schools in the hope that their children would be in the top ten percent. The positive spillover effects of these bright and motivated students on the teachers and the rest of the students cannot be underestimated.
If Malaysia were to adopt a similar move, imagine motivated parents enrolling their children in rural schools, and the positive consequences that would accrue on all.
As can be seen, one does not need to attend the Commonwealth Education Ministers’ meetings or have “Blue Ribbon” committees to know the problems of our schools and to come up with solutions. If Hishamuddin were to spend less time unsheathing his keris at meetings and more time visiting our schools and listening to parents, he would not have smugly pronounced himself satisfied with our current system.
January 14th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Dr. Bakri, Thanks for another well-written piece.
Your many attempts to drive some sense in the heads of the likes of Hishamuddin Onn may will bear some fruit one day - hopefully.
The one thing I would like to add to your piece is the Education Ministry’s close-both-eyes policy in allowing the abuse of the system by headteachers and teachers for their personal benefit.
Students in National-type schools are required to submit information of their parents’ professional and academic qualifications, place of work, position and whether employed or self-employed, etc.
Teachers - some, not all - who are privy to that sort of information have been known to seek out parents who are in a position or have the ability to do them favours - for free of course.
For instance, an acccountant I know was approached for advice on tax matters. The tacit understanding is that if you help me I will in turn treat your kid well. Or at the very least leave him alone. Otherwise ……
Another abuse of the system is the frequent requirement of students to help raise funds for improvement of school facilities, like new chairs and tables or the setting up of a new science lab. The school I sent my kid even required the students to run around town begging people to contribute towards the cost of building a badminton hall amounting to a couple hundred of thousand ringgit.
This imposition on students is an enormous drain on time - and money - on students and their parents. Parents who are well-off enough often just foot the bill slapped on their kids. Students whose parents who are not well-off will have to beg. steal, or borrow to come up with the sum required of them, failing which they could be subject to some form of disciplinary lesson.
And when the time comes for the placing of orders or the tendering out of building contracts that’s when the headmasters (some, not all) - or teachers (some, not all) - really get a kick from their jobs - kick-backs!
January 16th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I dont think Hishamuddin understands the meaning of blueprint. Maybe he equates blueprint to success, so anothe blueprint means another success.
The other thing is the Ministers of Education (plural here) don’t have the will to make education a success. They are more engrossed to pleasing the various constituencies, i.e teachers, the linguists and the malay loyalist to the point that they are the Malays are the losers here.
So as long as there is something new implemented and the exam results show an improvement over the previous, then they think they have been successful.
January 16th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Well the Blueprint is out. The PM is playing his role to hype it. Although you can’t really criticize the general goals but what strike me is that this blueprint basically well - more political bull rather than anything real. It is so short of actually setting measurable goals and numbers and full of high-faluting goals. Does it make sense to talk of ‘cluster of excellence’ when rural kids can’t even do the 3R well? There is little talk of execution and accountability but all about goals, programs and process that well, don’t mean a damn if they are not measured somehow..
January 17th, 2007 at 1:30 am
When their only goal in life is to ensure their continuity and relevance what can you expect from these two Umno stalwarts? They will go on playing their ill-defned roles for as long as their bosses in Umno want them to do. The solution is so simple but do you think Umno has the political will to do the unthinkable?
Thailand did the same to its rural poor in the 70s and 80s. Keep them poor and ignorant so they would always remain subservient and indebted to the government.
Badawi challenges the two ministers to walk the talk but let’s see what comes next. After all the huha it’s business as usual. I have seen this kind of crap going far too long to even bother a response.
Do you honestly think they have the welfare of the rakyat at heart? At best they will utter a word or two. Hishamuddin will draw his keris for effect while Mustapha will just smile and hide behind the pillars.
Come next year there will be another blueprint. The best blueprint, I feel, is a footprint on their faces. Ask the Iraqi jihadists, they have the answer.
January 21st, 2007 at 10:14 am
Hello all. I’m not a very political creature but when it comes to education I’m intensely passionate about the issues related to it. I don’t know if any of you have actually read the blueprint in detail but i’ve managed to glance through the document and have a general idea of what it’s about. It definitely sounds good and luring on paper, and boy I can tell you, it is ambitious. However, it doesn’t seem to address the root cause of the deterioration of educational standards in our country. Firstly, it doesn’t commit itself to reducing the enormous class size in urban schools which is a definite contributing factor to learning. Adressing this problem only in schools which have been identified as cluster schools is tantamount to not practising a policy of providing equal rights to education. Secondly, the quality and capability of teachers is another issue that the honourable minister and his team have not seem to address in the blueprint. Increasing funding , well, might be a part of the answer but it is NOT the answer to the problem . Being an educator myself for the past 21 years, I have seen the quality of our educators ,ranging from those teaching in the primary schools right up to secondary and to a certain extent the universities as well, deteriorating almost to the point of being mediocre. The general public and the press have been pointing fingers at our youngsters for their mediocrity and unmarketability, but we have forgotten that whatever they have become today is partly due to how they were taught back in “schools”. I do not want to waste space citing the numerous proofs of the lack of expertise of our teachers but suffice to say it has become a very grave matter of concern which many people have to bear with. And it is in this area that Datuk Hishamuddin should start off with, not cluster schools or if he is in a hurry to achieve results ( which I don’t see how this could be done as human capital takes a long time to rebuild once it’s destroyed) take at least a multi pronged approach focusing on matters of first priority. Thirdly, why in the world start another new model when they have just started the Smart Schools concept not too long ago. Should’nt they follow up with that idea and attempt to refine or modify it so that it genuinely works? Right now, only a certain number of schools are considered smart schools but how smart they are is another contentious issue altogether. Despite the fact that there was an earlier announcemet by our Prime Minister that they would increase allocation for education so that every school would be a smart school, nothing seems to have moved since then. Schools have remainedl the same. The general scenario in the urban schools is this; 40 - 45 students crammed into a small cubicle which they call a classroom. The noise level in most of these schools is of the highest decibel that can be tolerated by any humans. And nobody seems to care two hoots about what learning is all about except to score A’s even if their quality is suspect. The general scenario in rural schools- the pace is so darned slow moving and so restricted due to the “in the box” mindset that nothing seems to get done. And mind you this is not particular to the rural schools only. It is just as rampant in the urban ones which have in its student population, the urban poor. Besides, many of these students from both the urban and rural areas are victims of family related problems and a minority of them may be children with learning disabilities ( I have personally dealt with a number of such cases in the course of my work, yet do not know who I should refer them to). For these people, providing allocation for tuition classes and seminars would not help. For crying out loud, what they need is expert help which the education service is just not equipped to provide. Again, Datuk Hishamuddin and his team may argue that they have trained counsellors working in schools and again I would like to say that the quality and the level of professionalism of many( not all) of our counsellors is just questionable. So, perhaps, this is one area that the honourable minister should be looking at instead of coming up with such a gradiose idea. In fact, I dare say that the earlier concept of smart schools has been reduced to having students sit in classes ocnducted with the use of computers and CD’s. Sure, it is a reflection of technology being used in the schools but isn’t that a very restricted concept? I’m sure we are capable of more than that. How about getting teachers to buck up and start thinking about learning to at least have an email. How about selling the idea of helping students to learn through networking with experts from different fields by using the internet? How about conducting small group discussions using the simple tool called a messenger? How about taking a history class through a virtual tour of, lets say the Museum Of natural History of London or getting them involved in a joint conservation project with another class from lets say, a canadian or an american school? All this is obviously and glaringly possible but teachers restrict themselves to just using the Cd’s produced by the Curriculum Development Centre, The Educational Technology Division and The Textbook Division. Cd,s whose content is as stilted and contrived as the normal lessons conducted in class. So anyone were to say that the smart school concept has been proven a success and is done with and we should all concentrate on this new model called the cluster schools, I honestly and sincerely beg to differ. We’re not only wasting a lot of precious taxpayers’ money, we are DESTROYING OUR CHILDREN BIG TIME
February 9th, 2007 at 7:06 am
Great article
I hope everybody read this article
February 12th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Dear Bakri,
I got orgasm when I found this blog of yours and having read your thoughts. I googled “smart schools blueprint” and your blog appeared on first page. I had wanted to write about something similar to what you’ve put across, but before that i wanted to revisit the content of the malaysian smart schools blueprint that was developed, i think some 10 years ago. when the Smart Schools blueprint came out then, I had a copy and read it cover to cover. I had great hopes that with the smart schools blueprint, our schools would improve tremendously.
So i thought, why should Hishamudin come up with a new blueprint. The smartest thing he could do is to continue driving our schools to greater heights based on the Smart schools blueprint. There are so many lessons to be learnt from the smart schools pilot and the best way to move forward should be to leverage on those lessons, improve on the concept and on the execution of the smart schools program.
Unless, of course, the main intention of the MOE is to give projects to new groups of people.
I think we should get some one new to head the Ministry. I have been monitoring the Minister. I find that he is a very reactive Minister and lacks good intellect. Just look back at the various ideas that he has put forward such as the tear-jerking movie project to counter bullying in school.
I feel so at lost because despite how much we disagree with what the Ministry does, we continue to support him at the election.
Salam,
Iskandar Zulbryner