By Che’Gu

A week ago, we, Malaysians saw the historical transition of power from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Harapan. The majority were looking for “change” and they showed it at the ballot box.

The month of May celebrates workers. We had Workers Day, Nurses Day and Teachers Day. I, as an educator, would like to highlight some issues which the current government must analyse and solve.

Ministers and education ministry

Every time there is a change in minister, there is a change in policies. These policies are carried out not only as education propaganda but to sustain the minister’s legacy.

But we don’t know how educators are caring out those policies. And how much educators are being pressured to carry out those policies. For instance, the change from KBSR to KSSR, the implementation of PAK21, Frog VLE, PBS etc.

We soon heard grumblings from educators. Did the ministry hear those grumblings? Did the ministry help educators with their workload? Each new minister said, “Beban guru akan dikurangkan” (Teachers’ workload will be reduced). The question is when?

I agree there is some research that shows teachers in Malaysia only work three and half hours. How about the rest of the hours? Marking, keying-in marks, creating exam papers, filing, meetings till late in the evening etc. Shouldn’t these be taken into account as part of the workload?

The main problem in the education ministry is “top down” instructions and pressure. A policy will be made, and the ministry instructs the state education department to implement it. They in turn instruct the district education office, who then instructs the schools, specifically teachers, to carry out the policies.

With every policy change, a lot of money is spent. Teachers have to take endless courses. Why doesn’t the new government have a discussion with the teachers and identify their problems? This will make things easier for all if a policy is to be formulated.

The education ministry should work “down to top” as teachers know the education system best. The government of the day should brainstorm with teachers to get in-depth information about teaching and schools.

We need a minister who has been in the teaching line as only teachers know the needs of their students best.

Education and schools

RM20 million was spent to employ a foreign consultancy firm to architect the national education blue print (Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013 – 2025) during Barisan Nasional’s regime.

Would it not have been better if that money was used for the infrastructure and betterment of schools that are in poor condition? I hope the current government allocates a proper budget for these schools and spends their money wisely.

Education in Malaysia places too much emphasis on marks and grades. If this is not so, why do we encourage Sekolah Berprestasi Tinggi, Sekolah Kluster, Sekolah Bai’ah?

Why are we having a “caste” system in schools? I guess it’s a good time for the Pakatan government to abolish these and treat each school and its students equally. Grades and marks alone are not what education is all about. Students should be able to apply what they have learned in daily life.

And that’s not all – schools must achieve the KPI imposed on them by the ministry. If they don’t, they will be in hot soup. Teachers will be blamed. The management will be blamed. When are the people up there going to understand that education is a process, and results take time? When are we going to make students study in ease and not in a pressure cooker?

Teachers and Students

How many know that teachers are opting out due to the heavy workload? A teacher is there to teach. But in Malaysia, teachers are clerks too. Will the Pakatan government reduce a teacher’s workload?

Is the current government aware about schools for the disabled? Not many are enrolled in these schools as it is far from their homes. There are also parents who send their children to private schools specifically for the disabled.

The parents of disabled child Annur, who is suffering from cerebral palsy, couldn’t enrol their child in any school simply because there is no school for such children.

Schools for the disabled are not solely for education, it is for therapy too. Don’t neglect these children as they are also our citizens and need an education too – just in a different way.

Students are burdened with exams. How will exams be the measure for their understanding? Look at Finland; they don’t hold exams till students are 10 years old.

Here in Malaysia, even kindergarten students are subjected to exams. Education is a process of understanding and not all students are able to do it in one go. Students need time to explore and understand what they are taught.

In Malaysia, students don’t ask questions. Teachers ask “faham tak?” (understand?), and students answer ” faham”. Do they really ‘faham’?

We are in a system where we are not encouraged to ask questions. Not only in education, but in politics too. We can’t question policies. It’s the same in schools. We are training them to just listen so when they grow up, they won’t question their bosses or their leaders.

We don’t know how to identify a student’s talent. It’s all about books, subjects and grades. There are slow learners who are not keen on studies, but they may be excellent in drama, dance, and art or singing. Do we have schools that cater to these talented students? Not in ordinary schools as these are about Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa Inggeris, Maths, Science, History, Geography and so on.

So what happens to these students? They will be sidelined in the mainstream education system. They will be seen as lazy, stupid, incapable. But in reality every human has his or her own capability but we in Malaysia fail to see it.

Let’s look at the classroom. There is a minimum of 35 students and sometimes maybe 50 in one classroom. How can a teacher cater to the different needs of 50 students?

Moreover, teachers in Malaysia have no assistance. If there was assistance, would it not be more effective as now two teachers can focus on a smaller group of pupils in a classroom?

After 61 years of independence, we are still stuck with the traditional classroom. If a teacher is teaching about the subject of fishing, and there is Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) involved, can students who only read about fishing answer HOTS questions? There is no field work in our education system.

Education as a business

Parents do not have to pay school fees, but they are burdened with PIBG fees, uniforms, books, stationery and more. Imagine a B40 parent having to spend on three kids for their education. The education ministry should look into this expenditure borne by parents.

Education is not a business but tuition centre fees are sky high. The government should tax them and use the revenue from the tax to fund the education of poor students. Education should be free until tertiary level and funded by the government.

Private schools are mushrooming. If the government can provide decent education to all, why do we need private schools? Also, the government should control private schools in order to keep education as a national agenda.

I hope the “change” that the rakyat voted for will be implemented in our education system. We seriously need to reform education and move forward as an educated nation.

Che’Gu is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.