Maszlee gets rough treatment at dialogue with academics

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik received some stinging barbs at a dialogue session today, with academics saying that the education system is broken, and questioning if he is the right man to fix it.

Former Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) director Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas said the education system is fundamentally broken, and needs a complete overhaul.

"Let’s face reality and state once and for all that this education system is broken. We have to completely reevaluate it.

"You (Maszlee) don't seem to understand the minds of young students ... how they are prepared throughout their development," Syed Ali Tawfik said at a dialogue session organised by the Asian Strategy and Learning Institute (Asli) in Subang Jaya today.

He said young students only need to focus on three areas in their first five years of primary school, namely reading, writing, and arithmetic.

This he said, laid the foundations for logic and reason among students.

His remarks echoed the views of former school principal V. Chakaravarthy who criticised Maszlee for not addressing education issues from the bottom up.

Chakaravarthy, who served as principal in three schools from 1980 to 1995, said children shouldn't be taught science before standard three as they will only learn to regurgitate what they were taught, instead of understanding it.

Syed Ali Tawfik also stressed that education needs to be kept separate from politics, namely political appointees and political slogans.

"Get rid of political appointees, don't put politicians as vice-chancellors. They are ruining everything, because they are connected to an ideology, to an inculcation of something political," he said.

Maszlee responded by saying that it was his policy not to have political appointees in "certain positions".

At a press conference later Maszlee clarified that he meant lawmakers can't legally be appointed as vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors, as these are considered civil service positions. - Mkini