JULY 29 — The fact that our educational system needs immediate and
drastic transformation is clearly evident. In the 2007, Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) said around 20 per
cent of Malaysian students failed to meet minimum benchmarks for both
Mathematics and Science, compared to only five per cent in Science and
seven per cent in Mathematics in 2003. According to the Programme for
International Students Assessment (PISA) 2009+ report, Malaysian
students ranked 55th out of 74 countries in terms of reading literacy,
57th in Mathematics and “only marginally better” in 52nd position for
Science literacy. The number of unemployed graduates with either a
diploma or degree from local institutions of higher education has risen
since the 1980s to a record of 24.6 per cent in 2010.
Our educational system generally promotes surface and passive
learning instead of deep and active learning which are crucial for
creating a quality learning environment. The products of our school
system are generally ill-prepared either for higher education, work or
life in general. Our students lack critical and creative thinking skills
because our educational system promotes conformity and uniformity.
Worse still, they have been “conditioned” to be spoon-fed. Our graduates
lack soft skills sought by employers, particularly communication
skills, a strong work ethic, achievement-orientation, pro-activity
(initiative), planning and organising skills, problem solving and
decision-making skills, and human relations skills.
As aptly stated by Datuk Johan Jaaffar, national schools have become
Malay schools and have failed spectacularly to become the school of
choice for non-Malay students. In the words of Tan Sri Musa Hitam, “…
the quality of education in these national schools is known to be so low
that they (non-Malays) have no confidence their children will get the
right or proper education there.” Mediocrity has also crept insidiously
into our universities. A 2011 World Bank study has found that the
academic standards of the University of Malaya have fallen due to
race-based quotas and political interference in the university’s
management. Based upon my recent interactions with hundreds of
university lecturers (including numerous professors) from four local
public universities through my workshops on effective teaching and
graduate employability, the vast majority of them have a poor
understanding of critical thinking and lack basic presentation skills.
We don’t need foreign experts to tell us what ails our educational
system and how to go about transforming it. What we need is to face
stark reality and the brutal truths about our educational system. We
have sacrificed meritocracy and quality teaching for mediocrity,
politics and an overdose of social reengineering. We have sacrificed
“quality” of graduates to “quantity” of graduates. In the words of Tan
Sri Arshad Ayub, “Appointments (in university administration) should be
on merit and apolitical. There should be more women and
non-Bumiputeras.” Similarly, Tan Sri Prof. Dr. Ghauth Jasmon (the
Vice-Chancellor of University of Malaya) has reiterated that “We must
bring in high quality professors into the system in all fields
regardless of who they are.”
The first step in transforming our educational system is to “begin
with the end in mind”. The million dollar question is to ask what should
be the desired attributes of our students and graduates i.e. what kind
of knowledge, skills and personal traits should they have to meet the
challenges of the twenty-first century world. To my mind, Malaysian
students and graduates should possess adequate disciplinary knowledge;
be self-confident and achievement-oriented; persuasive and effective
communicators; demonstrate integrity and a strong work ethic; fast,
self-directed, self-reflective and lifelong learners; resilient;
demonstrate good interpersonal and teamwork skills; good problem solvers
with analytical and creative minds; computer and information literate;
and productive and responsible citizens with inter-cultural tolerance.
Towards this end, schools and universities should provide a high
quality, broad-based and holistic education with emphasis on cognitive
intelligence, emotional intelligence, moral intelligence, spiritual
intelligence, physical well-being and aesthetic aspect.
Regarding the various measures needed to transform our educational
system to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we should take heed
of lessons learned from the world’s best-performing education systems
such as that of Finland, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, Australia and
New Zealand. First, the main driver of the variation in student learning
at school is teacher quality. According to William Glasser, “The only
way education is going to change is if the classroom teacher makes it
happen.” Research shows that over 30 per cent of the variance of school
student achievement resulted from professional characteristics of
teachers, teaching skills and classroom climate. Indeed, students placed
with high-performing teachers are likely to progress three times faster
as those placed with low-performing teachers. In this regard, it is
crucial to get people with the right competencies to become professional
and highly motivated teachers who practice self-reflection,
self-correction and continuous improvement.
Second, transformational leadership with a strong focus on
instructional leadership (enhancing the quality of teaching and student
learning) is the second most important determinant of student learning.
Transformational leaders are visionary, inspirational, change-adept, and
more importantly they nurture a high-performance school culture which
brings out the best in others and transform them into peak performers.
Third, high-performing schools generally have high and realistic
expectations of teachers and students; a nurturing and motivating
classroom climate; effective assessment (primarily formative) and
feedback; a close community-home-school partnership; and adequate
funding and resources.
Fourth, it is important to adopt an integrated and systemic approach
(and not a piece-meal approach) towards transforming schools. School
transformation efforts must encompass clear educational outcomes, a
broad-based and holistic curriculum, competent teacher recruitment and
development, effective school governance, varied and student-centric
instructional strategies, optimization of e-learning, appropriate
assessment and feedback, and a high-performance school culture committed
to excellence and continuous improvement.
I sincerely hope that my letter will stir up a healthy and frank
discussion among fellow Malaysians. The destiny of our country lies
squarely in our hands. We should not gamble with the future of our
beloved nation nor sacrifice the well-being of our future generations by
sacrificing meritocracy for racial or political considerations. Failure
to transform our educational system based upon systemic and brutal
change will erode our nation’s global competitiveness, organizational
productivity and individual well-being.
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