Education and the future.

Many agree that the future of a country depends on the education of today's children. To have an idea of where the country may be going, let's look at 3 articles in the news on 17th Nov 2008.

1. New Straits Times - STRESSED OUT: Wrong priorities harming children
In this NST article, we read that today's parents are putting the children into too much pressure on schooling and that it is adversely affecting both physical and mental health of the future generation. At the same time, every 1 out of 11 children (around 9.1%) scored straight As in the UPSR (12 year olds).

- So we must be doing very well academically, despite the health problems. Or our children are not healthy despite them doing well academically? Or are they the same children, as in are the sickly ones doing well in exams?

2. Malaysia Today - Malaysia's education ratings alarming
This article voices concerns over how Malaysians are too focussed on monetary rewards that a piece of academic qualification brings. Rote-learning and question spotting (preparing only for predicted exam questions) to pass exams became the norm while being interested in the requisite knowledge is the exception. It also talks about how politicians, parlimentarians, commentors on blogs, et cetera, blurt their narrow views void of proper thought.

- So we have paper-qualified schooled graduates who are not properly educated? Or are poorly educated people graduating from schools? And some of these people are politicians and parlimentarians?

3. The Star - M’sia suffering acute shortage of oncologists
Apparently, we have some 39 oncologist (Medical doctors specializing in cancer) and we need at least 200 for a population of 26 million. Also, we have been bringing in foreign doctors to do this although it is still insufficient.

- We are short of some specialist professionals? Are we also short of doctors, engineers, architects, town planners, managers? Are they being developed sufficiently (in both quantity and quality) in our education system?


Briefly browsing through the 3 articles, they seemed linked only by a thin thread. What if these are cause and effect symptoms of an alarming trend?

1. Result Worship - Children are forced-fed through a schooling system that worships examination results instead of knowledge and ability. True, exams prove that you have learnt how to answer the questions. It would be great for these children if society are willing to pay them in the future for answering questions in 3 hour sittings.

2. Paper qualified - Too many graduates today have problems in communicating with others, solving problems, and accepting responsibility. Ask any management person who has done interviews in the last 10 years and ask the management person how are his new hires. So we have paper qualified people without the necessary knowledge to perform. Seems to be a continuation (or automatic promotion) as item 1 above.

3. Lack of professionals - Where did they go?
a. Did we produce less than needed?
b. Are those that we produced functional?
c. Are these functional ones performing in this country?

ah... Perhaps we have to wait for another article, the one on migration trends. Is there a migration trend at all? Maybe the reason why some foreign professionals are willing to work here is the same reason why some Malaysian professionals migrate or choose to work in the more developed countries?

Are the following a summary of the current trend?
1. Most children being too pressurised and measured on exam results instead of knowledge or thinking.
2. Under-graduates that are more interested in getting the paper qualification than in learning or thinking.
3. The knowledgeable professionals are leaving the country, leaving behind those that can't leave. And foreigners who come here are merely looking for a stepping stone to US or Europe.

And here is another disturbing article by a columnist in TheStar, "For our kids’ sake, check the slide"

And our government is aware and probably have been taking actions. I dont have the actual articles but you may remember reading some of these that our government think will solve the problem with the education system.
1. Provide more loans/scholarships for tertiary education
2. Provide more places in more institutions of higher learning and have a minister dedicated to higher education.
3. Send more officials from Ministry of Education overseas to study other countries.
4. Promote our tertiary institutions to foreign countries such as Africa and China.
5. Replacing Vice Chancellors, Chancellors and similar actions.

Apparently, the quality of the students entering these tertiary institutions has no effect on the quality of the graduates. So we only need to fill the tertiary institutions with more students and better officials and the output will improve.

I should have thought of that.