RMC’s Wise Decision to Drop Lower Forms
RMC’s Wise Decision to Drop Lower Forms
(From the Sun Weekend edition, February 18, 2006)
The decision by the Ministry of Defense to eliminate Forms I-III and re-institute Sixth Form at the Royal Military College is wise. I hope this is just the beginning of the innovations, and that other residential schools would follow RMC’s lead.
By eliminating the lower forms, RMC would effectively double its output for the same resources. Besides, children at that age are too young and psychologically very vulnerable to be separated from the support and nurturing of their family. By bringing back Sixth Form, RMC would have its own matriculation program. This would be considerably cheaper and far more effective then the current matrikulasi.
As I wrote in my book, An Education System Worthy of Malaysia, our residential schools get the best students and teachers, and consume more than their fair share of resources. Despite that, their aggregate results are disappointing.
Visit any leading university, and the Malaysians there are more likely to come from other than our residential schools. Our elite too are shunning these schools, opting for private schools locally or even abroad. The Deputy Prime Minister sends his daughter abroad for her matriculation. The clamor for expanding international schools also reflects this sentiment.
MARA recently opened its residential schools to non-Bumiputras. That there are few takers indicates the low standing of these schools among non-Bumiputras. Consequently, the experiment to decrease the insularity and stiffen the competition fails miserably. These schools remain segregated racially, and their competitive spirit nonexistent.
The Ministry of Education tried to eliminate Form I at Malay College in 1971, but intense lobbying by its “old boys” scuttled the idea on grounds that it would weaken its “tradition.” I argue the opposite. Certain traditions, in particular the college’s celebration of mediocrity, need to be broken. Today, Malay College does not even prepare its students for matriculation; they have to go elsewhere. So much for hallowed tradition!
Eliminating the lower forms should be just the beginning for RMC; it should go further. Its curriculum must be revamped to emphasize English, mathematics, and the sciences. I suggest that RMC be English-medium.
RMC has a national responsibility to prepare those bright students under its tutelage for the best universities. Anything less is unacceptable. RMC must regain its earlier stature where its graduates ended up in such institutions as Oxford and West Point.
This means the students must sit for well recognized matriculation examinations. Today these are the International Baccalaureate (IB), America’s Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and Advanced Placement (AP), and the British GCE-A level. IB and AP are especially highly regarded; IB in particular provides both depth and breadth.
Private institutions are already preparing their students for these examinations. These examinations are a novelty only to the bureaucrats, educators, and students of our government schools.
Residential schools are expensive. To defray the costs, I would charge tuition and boarding, subsidizing only the needy. Another way to reduce cost and at the same time expand capacity would be to make these schools not wholly residential. Those who live nearby could be day students.
To make these schools even more effective, they should admit students only from rural areas. These are the students who would benefit most from the superior facilities. There is little point in admitting those already attending superior schools.
I would grant these schools their autonomy, giving them an annual global budget based on enrolment and agreed-upon performance criteria. Let each school, guided by its Trustees, run its affairs, design the curriculum, and chart its course, including the freedom to hire and fire the staff. Such school-based management would result in the blossoming of innovations. Each school would be free to try new ideas, and the successful ones would then be shared and adopted by others.
The current system is too rigid and centralized. There is no room for local creativity and initiative. Every decision is made at the ministry, by personnel most remote from the problems and realities of the classroom. This cannot be good.
With these suggested changes, our residential schools would then aspire for greater heights and benchmark themselves against the Etons and Grotons of the world. Currently they compare themselves to the likes of SMK Ulu Kelantan, and then smugly pronounce themselves elite and successful.
March 20th, 2006 at 4:55 am
I strongly agree with the idea of giving these schools more autonomy and limiting admissions to those from the rural areas. Those from the rural areas are, as Dr. Bakri said, almost always the ones who need the best teachers and facilities available. Each school should also be given the chance to develop its own unique style and culture, instead of being stifled by Education Ministry bureaucrats. (It would be nice to admit more non-Bumis — solely on merit of course — as well. If admissions are limited only to the rural areas, most of those admitted will still be Bumis.)
March 20th, 2006 at 6:28 am
An institution of learning must have diversity to expose the minds to the multi-facets of life and role-modelling. I support handicap be given to the less fortunate.
March 21st, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Guys,
We are not short on ideas and proposals. Those in positions of power unfortunately do not look at them in earnest. They also lack the political will to act and change things around because it is in their interest to stick to the status quo.
So we are by choice condemned to mediocrity. This is what “cemerlang, gemilang and terbilang” actually means. How else can I interpret it.
Thanks.
March 21st, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Dear All,
I guess the Ministers can’t even do simple mathematics. 11A 1 > 11A1 and 1A2. So no wonder we are all in trouble. I wonder what they teach these Ministers in school especially for Maths, Add Maths or Modern Maths.
March 22nd, 2006 at 5:45 am
I am afraid this obssession of straight A1s is taken too far. Geniuses without responsibility will turn into monsters.
March 22nd, 2006 at 8:47 am
Do you honestly believe these so called “geniuses” with 15 A1s are real? I wonder how could they acquire such scores when all I could muster was one misery A2 in my Senior Cambridge. There were only six first graders in my school. Getting grade one in SPM is nothing today. May be the glamour has long gone when passing and scoring become so easy.
Good luck to you Hishamuddin. Go on put more “geniuses” in the streets. Let’s see what happens when reality bites.
March 22nd, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Fathol Zaman
Either the kids nowadays are smarter or the SPM grading has been lowered. SC and MCE are not the same as SPM. Just like you there were only 6 first grader in my graduating class, a sprinkling of second graders and lots of third graders. At that time I believe we can sit for no more than 9 subjects and 9 A1’s are very rare. It’s always either 8 A1’s and 1A2 and the likes.
No wonder nowadays parents are demanding scholarship for their straight A’s children. These are “geniuses”.
March 22nd, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Hey i got only 3 As for my SPM. So what does that make me. Three standard deviation below the mean? perhaps four? I really hate this As subject. Dont tell me after 10-20 years of education development, we still enjoy higher and higher percentages of straight A students? There must be a point where you will hit a sort of “limit” to these things. Its only natural. What does a A constitute? 60 /100, or depending on subjects, a 20/100 is a C. Please tell me.
For that matter, SPM results have always been a political issue, with all the ministers of education as of late, would always want a “better report card” each year, better and better. As a result, these poor kids became more and more dissusioned. Hey they thought themselves as very smart kids, can kungfu kuewteow everybody.
I dont see myself becoming more and more stupid when comparing to current students learning under the current curriculum. Further, so called these A students some of them barely understand why there’s physics, biology and chemistry ( hey are they still teaching junior cambridge chemistry and physics?). I do not object to change, for the better of course, but how can you substitute 5 hrs of each of the three sciences and 5 hrs of each of the two maths, thats 15hrs a week for sciences and 10 hrs a week for maths, with a general subject and math. I honestly pity the “lost generation” that had to struggle with Alam dan Manusia, the biggest joke inthe history of Malaysian education, even till now, they dont know what physics and chemistry is.
And what is this huha about sekolah satu sesi, its an old election gimmick!. I still remember headlines and TV coverage of XX giving out contracts and award letters and money of course to thousands of contractors to build schools, for this single session school thing, and looking at, after TWO elections, were are still nowhere near that target. I’ll wait for the RMK 9 see if the same goodies and excuses would be. The last time that happened, the innitial payment was increased from 30 percent upfront to 50 percent up front. WHY is PAC not questioning anyone, or for that matter ACA?
April 10th, 2006 at 3:39 am
You guys are a joke!
We Umnoputras are not stupid. The purpose of it all is to ensure that we stay in power - and what better way can that be accomplished if not by keeping the masses in ignorance or provide a semblance of democracy, give them the impression that they are in control.
In times of crisis, the simplest thing to do is to dangle the Chinese boogeyman in front of them - which never fails to elicit the kind of reaction that is needed. You see, the Malays are a very simple race - they can be led by their noses like the kerbaus their fathers were used to deal with tn the padifields. At other times, you can easily stir emotions and inflame their anger and exploit their naive anad pent up frustrations just by raising the traditiontal keris, the symbol of Malay power, and cutting the air with it.
We do that not out of any sense of nationalism or pride in culture, language or race. We do that for the simplest and obvious of reasons - which is to stay in power and continue to harvest the spoils of office which comes with that power.
As for the national education system, to attribute the failings of the system to flaws in policies is to be naive in one’s interpretation of the causes why such a system is allowed to continue. The idea is to produce graduates who are incapable of independent and critical thinking. What better method is out there than to produce citizens who are docile in their attitude, who will always believe what they hear and read. and who will always accept your views. The mainstream media is under our control. That should ensure that every docile, ignorant citizens get to hear only our views. Of coure, there will always be some ‘bright sparks’ out there who would refuse to conform - but we have other ways to ensure conformity to our views.
So why dont you guys wake up? It is pathetic to have to read all these postings about ways and means to improve this and that. Sheeesh….!