I have never blogged about any big issue or serious matter regarding my nation but this article has strongly provoked my thought and I feel a strong urge to blog about our Malaysian Education System. *I feel good about using the word 'our' because it makes me feel that I am not actually THAT far apart from my beloved nation despite the fact that I have come to UK for 3 months.*
So, what's wrong with the education system in Malaysia? Well, perhaps 'wrong' is too strong a word for me to use. After all, I am just a first-year undergraduate who possesses no credibility to judge the system. But hey, I have gone through six-year primary school and five-year secondary school in Malaysia! My experience in the schools should allow me to make some fair comments on the system, right?
I know it is rude to say this but most of our teachers are not good. Ok, so now you're asking what is the standard of a good teacher. Possession of a wide range of knowledge and skill to impart knowledge is a MUST. Patience, approachability and willingness to accept others' (students', to be more precise) idea are also keys to be a good teacher. Most of the time, our teachers possess a great deal of knowledge but the problem is with the imparting of knowledge. My schooling years saw a drastic increase in the use of IT in classroom but to be honest, I do not see it being helpful. Ok lah, too harsh to say that it's totally unhelpful because it does help to attract students' attention. Attention to the class or to the computer/slide show? Haha. I shall let you to decide. So, taken IT away, what's left? The teacher's skill, of course! The way our teachers teach can be summed up in one word—BORING—because all they do is telling us things that have been written in the textbook (or reference book) rather than explaining them. Even if they do, they do it in a way which makes us passively absorbing the knowledge. And now you're asking what should be the right way of teaching. The key is fostering curiosity and inquiry. Once a student is curious about something, he or she will actively seek for the knowledge; this is far more effective than a teacher 'forcing' the students to learn something, isn't it?
Nonetheless, it is not sufficient just to make students curious and feel like wanting to learn. Teachers should be available and approachable when students want to ask something or clarify something taught in class. My personal experience in this issue is terrible. I remember it happened during my Form One. All my siblings hated History so much and did quite badly in the subject. To prevent myself being like them, I tried my best to be interested in the subject. Whenever I had a question, I always asked my teacher even though it might make me sound stupid in class. But one day, my mom told me that a teacher complained to her that I had asked too many questions in class. Apparently, my History teacher 'shared' about my 'bad habit' of asking question, with his colleagues and one of them told my mom about it. After that, I questioned myself: was I wrong for asking questions to make myself understand the subject better? I started paying less attention in class and diverted my questions to my tuition teacher who was always willing to answer me. Fortunately, I did not lose interest in the subject because of that teacher and his 'kind' colleague but this incident forever reminds me of how important a teacher's role is to a student: a teacher can spark, as well as causing one to loss, interest in studies.
My application to the teacher's training course makes my impression towards our education system even worse. I will never forget that the interviewer asked me whether I was sure that I want to be a teacher, after seeing my almost full As SPM result. I cannot understand where the mindset that the occupation of teacher is for mediocre people comes from. Excuse me, do you not know that a doctor, an engineer, a scientist, a lawyer, an accountant, everyone including you and me is taught by a teacher? For this very reason I believe if someone is to be a teacher he or she must be someone better, more clever, more capable than anyone else! The fact that our Ministry of Education has been all these year setting too low requirements for those who apply for teacher's training course is simply ridiculous! Not only are they not recruiting the right candidates but they are also cultivating the absurd mindset that anyone can be a teacher!
Even though I have graduated from my secondary school for almost three years, I constantly pay my school a visit when I am free. Without fail, everytime I return to my school, I will hear that new teachers have been assigned to my school but I have never heard that a good teacher has been sent to my school. I cannot help to admit that our education system is deteriorating "[b]ut the World Bank also pointed out that Malaysia already has a notion of how to arrest the decline, in the form of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 that was launched last month." Well, I hope things will change, for the sake of my dearest nation and of my future generation.
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