They are undergraduates but cannot write letters, debate or understand footnoting.
Prof Datuk Khoo Kay Kim of Universiti Malaya said: "I don’t know how to talk to university students any more. "They don’t understand what I am saying, it is that bad. I cannot communicate with them."
The Education Ministry said they understand as students coming from secondary schools are not just note-memorising, straight-A students have little creativity or people skills.
Former Education director-general Tan Sri Murad Mohd Noor said the emphasis now should be changing the system so that students were not pressured so much, so early in life. "The rat race now begins at Standard 6 with the UPSR, with the competition resulting in parents forcing their children to attend private tuition," he said. Schools should be empowered with their own assessments, he said, instead of a centralised national examination system.
Murad said he was dismayed that parents were now gung-ho about their children taking 15 or 16 subjects for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. "I think it’s unnecessary. When they go to STPM, they only need four subjects. "When they go to university, they need less than that, and if you are going to be a professional, you only need one," he said.
This was echoed by Khoo, who said the ministry and media’s focus on the number of As was perpetuating the problem. "The ministry should look at the results of the last 10 years, pick out those who scored 10As and above and find out what happened to them. The leaders in our societies today are not people with all those As. "Before 1957, school heroes were not those with 8As or 9As, they were the great debaters, those good in drama, in sport, and those leading the Scouts and Girl Guides," he said.
Education officials say that the ministry was looking into the way exam results were announced or highlighted, but more importantly, focusing on changes in content and the way they should be assessed.
Do you think the Ministry know their problem or knows the surreal problem?
I don't think Murad and Khoo is absolutely right. They are only seeing the problems superficially. It is not the root of the problem. It is nothing to do with straight As or 15As. It is the teachers' quality and the lack of passion for education of the children. The emphasis is on scoring for the exam and students are prepared according to the needs and expectations of the exams. Past year exam papers becomes the core focus areas of education and childrens are taught how to spot the questions and how to answer. Therefore, they memorise and dictate; no elements of education and understanding of the subject matters is necessary. It's all about the outcome - the results - that matters. Thereafter, it's all up to the children to fend for themselves and to prepare themselves after school or universities to meet the challenge of the vocation. Sadly, the quality of teachers' skills and educational competencies are questionable. Many of them have not had a chance to work in industries. They graduated from teachers' college and universities and straight goes into teaching. They won't understand the industries requirement and competency building. All they knew are from textbook and case studies from textbook too. They can't tell you what to do and expect from commercial and business corporations and the competencies of each position of employment within an organization.
What do you expect and what can you expect from these teachers and lecturers? Talk to the universities lecturers and find out, Prof Khoo and Murad. Don't just blame the students. And worse off, most of the students in Universities are given tips of the exam questions and sample answers which most of the time, is spot-on! That's why they scored!!!!
Prof Datuk Khoo Kay Kim of Universiti Malaya said: "I don’t know how to talk to university students any more. "They don’t understand what I am saying, it is that bad. I cannot communicate with them."
The Education Ministry said they understand as students coming from secondary schools are not just note-memorising, straight-A students have little creativity or people skills.
Former Education director-general Tan Sri Murad Mohd Noor said the emphasis now should be changing the system so that students were not pressured so much, so early in life. "The rat race now begins at Standard 6 with the UPSR, with the competition resulting in parents forcing their children to attend private tuition," he said. Schools should be empowered with their own assessments, he said, instead of a centralised national examination system.
Murad said he was dismayed that parents were now gung-ho about their children taking 15 or 16 subjects for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. "I think it’s unnecessary. When they go to STPM, they only need four subjects. "When they go to university, they need less than that, and if you are going to be a professional, you only need one," he said.
This was echoed by Khoo, who said the ministry and media’s focus on the number of As was perpetuating the problem. "The ministry should look at the results of the last 10 years, pick out those who scored 10As and above and find out what happened to them. The leaders in our societies today are not people with all those As. "Before 1957, school heroes were not those with 8As or 9As, they were the great debaters, those good in drama, in sport, and those leading the Scouts and Girl Guides," he said.
Education officials say that the ministry was looking into the way exam results were announced or highlighted, but more importantly, focusing on changes in content and the way they should be assessed.
Do you think the Ministry know their problem or knows the surreal problem?
I don't think Murad and Khoo is absolutely right. They are only seeing the problems superficially. It is not the root of the problem. It is nothing to do with straight As or 15As. It is the teachers' quality and the lack of passion for education of the children. The emphasis is on scoring for the exam and students are prepared according to the needs and expectations of the exams. Past year exam papers becomes the core focus areas of education and childrens are taught how to spot the questions and how to answer. Therefore, they memorise and dictate; no elements of education and understanding of the subject matters is necessary. It's all about the outcome - the results - that matters. Thereafter, it's all up to the children to fend for themselves and to prepare themselves after school or universities to meet the challenge of the vocation. Sadly, the quality of teachers' skills and educational competencies are questionable. Many of them have not had a chance to work in industries. They graduated from teachers' college and universities and straight goes into teaching. They won't understand the industries requirement and competency building. All they knew are from textbook and case studies from textbook too. They can't tell you what to do and expect from commercial and business corporations and the competencies of each position of employment within an organization.
What do you expect and what can you expect from these teachers and lecturers? Talk to the universities lecturers and find out, Prof Khoo and Murad. Don't just blame the students. And worse off, most of the students in Universities are given tips of the exam questions and sample answers which most of the time, is spot-on! That's why they scored!!!!
4 comments:
yeah the blame should not fall on the students. blame it on the people who formulate our education system, the media, the public, the parents....
Purple,
You seemed to confirm Prof Khoo's hypothesis. Well, you will surely do better than them.
You have to be a parent to understand the pressure of our current school system.
Idealism sometimes can amount to unwitting suicide.
Agree, Mave?
Yes Amoi. I am a father and I am sad to see my children slogging through schools for the purpose of results without any emphasis on education. It is all about exams, exams and exams and mugging and spotting questions and answers.
But the education ministry and UMNO makes it such that any non-Bumis without the high scores will not get a place in local U particularly on critical courses. It's the NEP and the quota system that caused the rat race and now, the Bumis had join in the race too. They too are suffering the same fate. Whose fault? NEP and Quota system of unmeritocracy.
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