Great to look east but do we have qualified teachers, ask Japanese grads

The quality of teachers is more important than the quantity, says Japanese Graduates Association of Malaysia president Gary Tang. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Graduates from Japan have welcomed Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s call for Malaysia to learn from the Japanese education system but warn that there may be a lack of qualified teachers to take up the challenge.

Japanese Graduates Association of Malaysia president Gary Tang said Malaysia needed to raise the quality of its teachers rather than lowering standards to increase the quantity.

“The new government must be daring enough to change this. We can no longer sacrifice the quality of our teachers just to meet the numbers,” he told FMT.

On Tuesday, Mahathir said Malaysia would continue its Look East Policy in cooperation with Japan to further empower the national education system.

He said the government would be looking at the Japanese system of education, from kindergarten to higher education levels.

Tang, who studied under the Japanese system, applauded the move, saying it was about time Malaysia revamped its education platform.

He said Malaysia should analyse Japan’s success, especially in science and mathematics, and choose the best elements to incorporate into the local education system.

This, Tang said, was crucial, considering the amount of irrelevant syllabus currently being taught.

He compared the syllabus in Malaysia to those from neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia which he claimed were more advanced.

“Our system has to emphasise what truly matters in the world. Moving towards being a first-world country, we need to improve our syllabus to parallel that of a developed nation.”

Subjects such as moral education by right should be taught in kindergarten or at home, he said.

“It’s as if we lack morality, considering the number of hours given to these subjects.”

Japanese university branch campus in Malaysia

Tang also welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement that Japan had agreed to begin a thorough consultation geared towards realising Mahathir’s request of opening a Japanese university branch campus in Malaysia.

Tang, who graduated from the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, encouraged Malaysian youth to consider enrolling in the branch campus if the plan materialises.

Not only would they learn a new language, he said, they would also be able to tap into job prospects in Japanese multinational companies, especially those under the engineering and IT industry.

“Multinational companies would rather offer jobs to graduates from Japanese universities than from elsewhere. So it increases job opportunities for graduates,” he said, adding that it was cheaper to study here than to go all the way to Japan.

He also voiced hope that Abe would convince the Japanese National Diet to amend its constitution to allow universities to be opened overseas. - FMT