Malaysian education system and its flaws

Before I begin this article I want to clarify that I'm not against the government but I'm cooperating with the government by stating what I think is wrong in Malaysian education system.We all are pursuing education for a better future but there's where I think the main problem is, where we are not achieving that.What is an education? According to Oxford dictionary, an education is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction. Based on this statement, it sounds like the engagement is either by learning and teaching an instruction given by teachers. Would it be good enough for the students? How can this approach help the students to handle difficult situation in the future? The learning process in the classroom is never enough for the students anymore. It takes more than academia to survive in such a stressful working environment. In Malaysia, the education system is indeed facing problems in producing competent graduates to face this gruesome and depressing challenging working world. What are the possible problems that caused such a bad system? What can be done to create a better education system?

First of all The problem of education system in Malaysia is that the students are too exam-oriented. Due to societal pressure, the result is the sole indicator of determining your performance in the school. For many innocent students in Malaysia, education means scoring the test papers, acquiring more knowledge for the exam, and of course, aiming for higher number of As! There is a misconception that higher number of As indicates the person is smarter. For example, parents and relatives like to compare their own children with the number of As in result slip or how much salary they can make per month. Why are they making us so stressful? I had heard numerous comparisons throughout my schooling year (even now).It is not because I am jealous or what (maybe I am?), this should not be the way to gauge the students’ ability. This is because the quality of As would be affected. So, is this the right way to compare? Would you compare a student with a very strong foundation in Physics gets mediocre result in other subjects, while another student who is just barely good at every subject gets straight As? Would you expect Albert Einstein to be good in every subject while his expertise is Physics? I believe his research ability would have suffered if he did that. This is the problem with the parents. They do not utilize the talents of the children. The children might be good in drawing, handcrafting, or sports. Instead, they put too much emphasis to create Jack-of-all-trades students in term of academic examination. When students are too exam-oriented, they are unable to utilize their talents by being productive in their fields. Because after all, they just want more As in exam slips.As everyone might say it's not the fault of the system but it is the fault of the mindset but at the same time this system is the one which become the sole reason for this type of mindset.So that is why I prefer students are not categorized only as science or arts stream whereas students should be categorized based around one field they are interest in.For example if a particular student is interested in medicine field then there is no reason for him to study Physics and Additional Mathematics.As long as there is no clear explanation from the Ministry of Education I firmly think this is one of the big flaw in our education system.

Next,Another flaw I see within most students in Malaysia is they lack of leadership element. It may sound cliché, but it is crucial to possess this ‘a must’ element in every student. This element cannot be acquired through class unless the leadership role is taken by the student. This is why the roles of class monitor, secretary and treasurer exist even in primary school. However, how many students are able to take these roles? Not so many. Based on my experience, most of the student leaders you see in your school or networking events are comprised a very small number. Perhaps, they may be 1 out of 100 students? What I find it funny is that the student leaders in the various events are actually the same group of people! These high motivated enthusiastic groups go for every kind of event to get exposure. This is why the representatives from Ministry of Education always think that most students are like the leaders, engaging most of the time. In fact, they are engaging the same students most of the time. Take for another example, today you might see a student ambassador from AIESEC in a GRADUAN career fair. After that, I can bet my 1 cent that you would most probably see him in other career fair/networking event/startup event/random event etc…. This is a good sign, but what about the rest? We are now talking out of the average students, not the top 5 %. Most of them would shun away from this kind of event, stay at home/hostel most of the time. The lazy type would most probably demotivate you by giving excuses like ‘Why do you go for so many kind of events?’, ‘Stay at home chillax first! Not easy to get holiday on weekends-leh!’, ’I didn’t meet my family for nearly whole semester…. I miss them so I have to go back!’, ‘After graduated you still can go-mah!’ and the list goes on. What happened after that? They feel scared when lecturers point them to answer question. Especially those forum and networking events where there will be a Q & A at the end of the session, not only the students, even the working adults would tilt their heads down. This shows they are shy and not taking initiative to take up a leadership role in asking questions. Who knows the answers from the questions would be an inspiring quote in the future? That is how the legacy was born by the leaders.Well it shows the system might create one good leader but in the same process it is losing the opportunities to create a nation full of leaders.It also raise huge amount of questions about what actually is a leadership quality.It is not only being able to lead a nation but when you are able to lead a healthy family that is also shows you have leadership qualities.So when a nation only have limited amount of 'leaders' it might help a nation in a particular way but not the nation as a whole.

Moving on,it is a very sensitive topic if I say so myself.Another flaw of Malaysian education system is not providing inspiring teachers.Anyway, I have found a random quote from the internet.

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” ― William Arthur Ward.

Speaking about teachers, teachers are noble and respectable. However, back to the quote, did teachers ever inspire most of the students nowadays? Yeah, maybe a handful. Most of them, are like the result of education system in Malaysia, teach according to the syllabus. They lack of empathy to care more about the students. The good ones would be focused, while the bad ones would be sidelined. Some would say ‘Why getting yourself into troubles when your pay is the same before and after?’ After all, teachers are now only known for rushing the exam syllabus. Where is the personal connection between the students and the teachers? Why can it never be like the relationship between the mentors and disciples? Let me ask you some questions:

1. When was the last time you had given a wishing card to them on Teachers’ Day?

2. Or for worse case, when was the last time you had visited your teachers after your graduation?

Those days where teachers inspire were gone. Students are never appreciative with what the inspiring teachers have done for them. They take everything for granted. Most would complain about the teachers on they did not come to the class and finish the syllabus. Again, syllabus!? I believe that every student should have an equal opportunity. It is the dedication of the teachers who can make a difference. Frankly speaking, If anyone have a hard time tutoring a student with bad results it will really test their patience to really get him understood. However,He will do well after that (Most probably) Besides, teachers are also responsible for some kind of programs in school, for example development programs (such as extra-curricular activities). These programs are usually deemed as wasting time by the students. Same goes to my second point, unless they are forced, only the 1 % highly motivated student leaders would volunteer to join these programs. Because students are only taught that results are everything. The result slip is the only pathway to go through your next level of education. Truth to be told, they would only realize the result slip is just an entrance to any level of education, in secondary and tertiary education. After that, everything would start from 0. Why don’t I tell you everything would start from 0 after you land your first employment? Imagine your 15 – 16 years of education becomes negligible after your first job. Reality is hitting us hard, isn’t it? Therefore, inspiring teachers can really mold the leaders that we can see at the top of corporate leaders.However it is not the case here in Malaysian education system.

In a crunchy nutshell, education system in Malaysia certainly doesn’t prepare the students to face the corporate life. The budget allocated for education sector is increasing annually, with the highest last year at RM 54.6 billion. Somehow, was it utilized effectively? It is not a matter of allocation anymore, the biggest role here is the execution. Teachers must be able to inspire the students to think out of the box. The students must not be left out for leadership role. They must be given the freedom to utilize their real talents to contribute to the society. Number of As shall not be the sole comparison to the quality of the students. Scoring 2928 of As throughout your life is equivalent to an IQ of 200! By changing the mindset of the young in the early stage, they would know their purpose to work on what they want to contribute in the future. If the country is to take about education excellence, it has to start with reformation in education first and it has to happen as soon as possible.

-If there's any mistake feel free to point it out :)