Saturday, February 17, 2007

Bachelor Degree in Death Technology

Earlier, I wrote: Malaysian University to teach Toilet Management.

Now, Malaysia may have to consider a international twinning programme with a British University.

The University of Bath in UK will be offering a bachelor degree Funeral Directorship. The degree course will cover everything from bereavement counseling to disposal of remains. The university said that this course has become necessary as funerals now involves ceremonies featuring quirky rituals like motorcycle hearse, and ashes launching and fireworks. Una MacConville from the University said that there was a growing need to understand death as a social experience. Other unusual course offered by British universities include, psychology of paranormal at Coventry U and Cultural significance of David Beckham at Staffordshire U.

In fact, the funeral course is not new except that it was offered by an institution, Chit Sin Tong (CST), situated along Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur (it's now defunct). The difference is that CST do not offer a degree as it did not apply to the Education Ministry for approval. If they had, it will not be approved. But if they do it now, probably, the government may consider affirmatively because of the greater needs of today's society and also partly due to the British connexion. At CST, the participants are taught how to dress up the deceased body, cosmetics technology, dress code for funeral participants and stakeholders manners. Optional subjects include grieving and crying skills, food procurement and placement technology, and funeral accessory management.

Would our ministry of education also conduct this course soon? Maybe, CST would be revived and renamed Malaysian University of Sudden-death Technology (MUSdT) and be given MSC status (The current Malaysian University of Science & Technology (MUST) may be restructured and become MUSdT as they are dying through gradual death process)

3 comments:

zewt said...

hahaha.... other subjects include grieving and crying skills, ya, we probably need that nowadays.

Anonymous said...

May I suggest our universities introduce an honours degree course in Spin Doctoring. This course has become quite necessary due to the ever increasing feel-good economic news coming from the govt.

Our esteemed PM should make a very good lecturer of this course, judging by his daily announcements of the economy getting from better to best, despite the annual GDP growth being halved from that of the 1990s. This course in spin-doctoring should also appeal to many Malaysians, from the roadside penjual ubat struggling to attract customers to the unscrupulous politician struggling to polish his/her skills to fool the rakyat in the coming GE.

Anonymous said...

Another crap idea. Jeez... They don;t know the true value of education do they? Time wasters!

NvdV