YOURSAY | Quality of education should be main focus

 

YOURSAY | ‘Schools must teach subjects, that will prepare students for the future.’

Improving interior schools my top priority, minister says

World Citizen: The new education minister and Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa do not inspire confidence. Both seem to be focusing on things that can be done at the administrative level. They do not have to spend their ministerial time on such issues.

Fixing the school buildings, tables and chairs and roads should be left to the state education directors and other administrative staff.

The education minister should be laser-focused on fixing the broken education system such as the content of school syllabi with a focus on the teaching of real subjects like maths, science, information technology, business and commerce, history, geography and others instead of religion and religious-based studies. The minister should also change the medium of instruction to English and start producing good-quality teachers.

Similarly, the health minister should focus on things like having quality doctors, ensuring sufficient health facilities to all segments of society, and availability of good and affordable pharmaceuticals by getting rid of the rampant corruption in the system instead of things like period poverty.

BOBBYO: This is a “shiok sendiri” statement from Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek. What then is the work of the education officers of the various states? It is their duty to recognise the weak and dilapidated buildings. At the same time, they also have to make sure that education facilities reach the interior of Sabah and Sarawak.

Your priority is to remove the elephant in the room. The education syllabus must be reorganised to suit the changes according to the needs of the world today.

Your priority is to make sure that the teachers chosen are of calibre and educated in the subjects taught. Your priority is to separate religion from education.

Schools must teach subjects that will prepare students for the future. Your priority is to bring meritocracy back to the schools and lift the level of education. Not lower the passing marks to satisfy the quota system. It looks like another five years will be wasted.

If Fadhlina does not have the guts to get rid of the huge elephant in the room, nothing will change, and it will be business as usual.

So many ministers have come and gone. All promising of improving the quality of schools in the interior areas. Sixty years on, nothing has changed. Broken roofs, broken tables and chairs, while the heads of the state education department would send their children to the best quality schools.

Just order these officers to get out of their comfortable air-conditioned offices and start doing work that they are paid for. Otherwise, remove them.

GreenRusa4781: Having access to education is certainly important. However, having access to quality teaching is more important. We have been going about seeking better-quality teachers to ensure better outcomes. Sadly, little or nothing is said about the quality of staff at the education ministry.

Aren’t these people responsible for the education policies and programmes, covering the curriculum and quality of teachers and teaching methods? I believe that the change must come with the education minister and all the staff at the education ministry. It is apparent when quality is lacking at the ministry, the education standards will continue to deteriorate after which no matter what you attempt, the rot cannot be reversed.

The current minister in my humble opinion is not cultured to bring positive changes because what is required is a change of staff within the ministry. The ministry must endeavour to employ the best brains there are in the country irrespective of race. How are you to remove at least 70 percent of the current staff? If one cannot do this, say goodbye to reforms and the country within the next 10 years will not attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) as the brain drain would deplete the pool of skilled workforce.

I wonder?: Malaysians and Singaporeans share the same ancestry, culture and DNA with many even families related. If Singapore can make it to be recognised as the best in the world in many fields including the education system, what are the reasons Malaysia cannot do the same?

If Singapore's education system has proven and is recognised as the world's best and is being studied and copied by numerous other advanced countries, why doesn't our education ministry do the same?

Just set up without further delay, a team comprising high-ranking and policymaking officials to cross the causeway to humbly study, learn and copy those useful tips from our Singapore counterpart and apply them to revamp and improve the education system and the quality of our students.

Instead of spending so much time in religious study, if our students can relocate half of it to focus on science and maths subjects, I strongly believe, in just a matter of a few years, Malaysia will be able to produce many more talents and professionals to help make Malaysia great again. An excellent education system is the foundation of a great nation.

Clever voter: Long-term focus on science and maths is a must. With an increasing number of young people unable to write effectively, it is clear that the education sector has failed to give students basic skills. While it is commendable to respect religious principles these should not be the overriding focus in education. We need an educated workforce to sustain the future.

Sherlock: That is a very low-hanging fruit, all you need is just to ensure the budget goes to the target schools, no big deal. What is urgently needed is the quality of teaching in the rest of 99 percent of the regular schools! You must get good leadership (headmasters), and good subject teachers.

The budgets are all there in place, what you need is the decision to sack non-performing, like what Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had stressed. We need an education minister to spearhead this aspect and leave the rebuilding of schools to the works department.

MatK: Good on you, Fadhlina. It’s quite puzzling that in this modern-day era and after almost seven decades of freedom from colonial rule and with all the abundant national wealth generated we seem still stuck in our interiors. Something to say about our leaders, perhaps.

However, do also continue to focus on the quality of education at all levels including our urban centres. Introduction and renewal of up-to-date technical and knowledge content curriculum via design, development, delivery, evaluation and constant redesign should take ongoing priority. Take a read of the quality of education of our immediate neighbour across the causeway. - Mkini