I’ll start with the subjects first. For instance, Pendidikan Moral (Moral Studies), a subject that should be taught but is taught in a very stupid manner. Why the hell should students memorise the long bombastic definitions of 36 moral values & be forced to regurgitate them word by word in the exams or risk losing marks if the definition is not exactly the same as what’s given in the text book even if the meaning is the same ?! Memorising those definitions is not going to play a role in a student’s moral developments whatsoever. What about the assignment…students taking pictures of themselves doing “moralistic” duties ?!........Bullsh*t!!
Next is Sejarah (History). From the subject Kajian Tempatan in Standard 4 to Form 5, we learn the same stuff over and over about Hang Tuah, Malacca, Parameswara, Penang, etc. Plus we only seem to learn about what happened within South East Asia. Barely anything is covered beyond this region. Why aren’t we learning world history ? As for History in Form 4, why do half the chapters cover topics related to Islam so extensively ? That should be covered more under Islamic studies & briefly under Sejarah as there are many other things to learn than that. Now don’t even think of twisting this into a religious issue. It’s an education issue. As for Form 5 Sejarah, the entire text book is practically bitching about Malaysian politics!! Is that all to history ?
The same thing goes for Geography. The syllabus mostly covers South East Asia only. From Kajian Tempatan to secondary school, the same banjaran Titiwangsa (Titiwangsa mountain range) & hutan khatulistiwa (equatorial rainforests) is seen for years (not really, but I hope you get my point). Is anything mentioned about the other parts of the world such as the rest of Asia, Africa, America, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, etc.. ? We barely (more like do not at all actually) scratch the surface of these places. Are we frogs under a coconut shell ?
As for the teachers, many of them suck nowadays, especially the younger ones. They lack teaching skills & dedication especially. Many are absent for days because the government sends them for kursus (courses) sometimes, but they come back the same!! Moreover, several teachers are also absent for months in a single year because they are busy getting pregnant. As crude as that sounds, I feel a teacher’s love/personal life should not conflict with their careers, especially in the teaching industry.
As for the method of assessment, too much is focused on exams & grades. Students are just obsessed with getting A’s. A’s aren’t everything & don’t conclude your intelligence. Some students cry as if it’s the end of the world when they get a B. I remember a newspaper report a few years ago when a student committed suicide just because a few A’s weren’t achieved. That’s just ridiculous. I wouldn’t kill myself even if I failed all my subjects!! I’d still work my way to reach whatever form of achievement or goal. If you fail anything, pick yourself up, learn from mistakes, & try again. Failing is not the end.
Every year we see more students scoring straight A’s….but are those A’s of quality or quantity ? Then we have the whole scholarship problem which I’ve written here. Every year we hear stories of how the passing mark is lowered to churn out more straight A students. Doesn’t this beat the purpose of having exams in the first place ? Do these A’s really reflect your intelligence ?...Of course not. I was an average student in school. Yet I’m doing much better in my university than I did at school. Why ? Maybe because of better teachers, my interest is there for the subjects & there’s no hanky panky in the marking system. The benchmark is high and fixed. Plus the assessments are not fully exam-oriented. They have class tests, assignments (group & individual), & presentations (group & individual) as well. All these together can reflect a student’s true potential.
The funny thing is, the government (BN) themselves have said many times for years that our education system is too exam-oriented. Students just memorise & vomit back what they memorised on paper. They say they’ll change the assessment methods to produce better quality students. Yet after many years of talk, the assessment methods are still the same!!
So those are a gist of the issues that need rectifying. There are a few other matters that need changes as well, but I rather not mention them as even education is politicized. These little changes can make a big difference for the better. Anyway, if these adjustments are done, I’m sure we can produce students of better quality with a broader mind which can propel Malaysia to greater heights as I believe a nation’s greatest asset are its people.
