Emphasise Process and Results

By Koh Soh Soo Ling

A RECENT seminar held at University of Malayas Faculty of Education brought together vibrant ideas and possible solutions for the sound implementation of the National Education Blueprint. KOH SOO LING reports.

Experts agree that teaching is a profession of practice and not theory alone.

That means achieving quality education should be concerned with both process and results. Sensing the need to expound on this, University of Malaya’s Faculty of Education found it timely to organise Education Seminar 2007 last Saturday.

Even though it was on a weekend, the urgency of the matter and the interest generated drew some 350 educators, lecturers, postgraduates and undergraduates to the seminar.

Themed The Execution of the National Education Blueprint: Present and Future Directions, the buzzwords were effective implementation, continual observation and attitude change.

The half-day event saw education experts from public and private tertiary institutions sharing a range of viewpoints.

The first speaker, UM deputy vice-chancellor (research & innovation) Professor Dr Muhamad Rasat Muhamad, who delivered the vice-chancellor’s speech, set the tone for the seminar.

“Reflection is part and parcel of objective assessment. We may think that our university is excellent. But do others agree? How accurate is our perception and can this be used as a springboard for further development?”

The question to ask: Is the present education system able to produce quality human capital? What necessary steps should universities take to propel this vision?

First is the role of the English language.

Accepting the fact that English is the second language means that concerted efforts need to be established to ensure that it is given its due importance.

An example would be the call for constant reinforcement to ascertain the importance of the English language.

Universiti Teknologi Mara pro chancellor Tan Sri Datuk Panglima Abdul Rahman Arshad says that unless teachers are armed sufficiently with knowledge, students will be at the losing end.

Using the allegory of a vehicle (teachers) carrying knowledge to the recipients (children), he says: “Do we have the teachers and the environment to support the teaching of English? Should we not try to do what little we can to teach English effectively?

“We must look into student profile. It is better to achieve something rather than to go beyond what you can handle. There needs to be a body to monitor progress and correct wrongs”.

Abdul Rahman says that schoolchildren should concentrate on their first language in primary schools and the second language (English) in secondary schools.

He believes that by the time these learners enter secondary schools they are more matured and ready to handle a second language better.

HELP University College president Paul Chan agrees that students are at risk when educators do not do a good job.

He says because Malaysia is a country of plenty, the concept of “no alternative” is missing. This means that many do not will themselves to succeed or overcome challenges to find workable solutions because they have the option to fail and move on to something else.

“The students end up unemployable. We must change our mindsets and focus on tangibles like qualitative issues, performance, classroom management and teaching and learning objectives.”

Another interesting issue is the importance of preschools.

To Abdul Rahman, early childhood education, primary and secondary education should work together to achieve the objectives of the education blueprint.

With technology advancements and the fast pace of development, Abdul Rahman is all out for early entry into formal schooling. He proposes five years of primary schooling instead of the present six years.

“Children as young as three are in nurseries. If we start formal schooling late, we are at a disadvantage.” he says.

Stressing on the importance of quality education, Abdul Rahman says that this is the underlying principle for one’s choice of school.

“In Singapore, there are no Chinese schools. We see parents of all ethnic groups enrolling their children into national schools.

“It is not the case where one school offers Mandarin and another does not. It is because the national schools emphasise high standards of quality.”

Quality education also means arresting mental decline.

Security measures have been enforced to ensure that pupils do not play truant but there are insufficient measures to monitor mental decline.

Due to an automatic promotion system, there are also no “physical dropout rates” (Penilaian Menengah Rendah and Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah). The drawback of such a system is that students who have not made the mark are promoted to even higher levels and they end up bored and unable to follow lessons.

Allowing schools to design their own examinations (other than the compulsory public examinations) according to their student profile would be helpful.

“Do we have enough teachers to conduct remedial classes? When we talk about student progress and achievement, I would say that the best school is when students from class D have moved up academically to class B.

“The issues of upholding ethics and morals should never be sidelined. The question is whether there is a focus on slogans rather than constructive plans,” says Abdul Rahman.

Open University Malaysia president Tan Sri Anuwar Ali says “when we want our students to engage in critical thinking, we fail to realise that it is also through the process of working that we learn to be critical”.

Besides that ensuring that the target groups are benefiting from the blueprint is also important.

Taking fully residential schools meant for the less privileged as an example, he says the focus is now on admitting those with good academic results rather than family background.

Since bright students are separated from the rest right up to matriculation colleges, those who remain in mainstream schools do not have role models to emulate.

Anuwar says the challenge is to marry both the matriculation and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia systems in the name of meritocracy.

In addition, it would help if those sitting on the university boards are former professors who have gone through the mechanics of living in a university.

Finally, when universities are given autonomy in the selection of candidates, education in Malaysia will go a long way.

* The writer is an Associate of the Office of Academic Affairs and an Associate Professor at the Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. She can be contacted at kohsl@salam.uitm.edu.my

(c) 2007 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.