NATIONAL or international school?

In the past, Malaysian parents did not face this conundrum because many would have just enrolled their children in the nearest national schools. But in recent years, this pattern has changed significantly. In the present climate, international schools are no longer the domain of expatriate children.

One significant factor was the liberalisation by the Education Ministry in 2012 to remove the quota for local students. In 2009, there were 67 international schools in Malaysia. But today, the number has shot up to 112. The latest figures provided by the International School Consultancy Group (ISC) also show a 40% local enrolment among the 39 premium international schools identified.

But why would Malaysian parents send their children to international schools despite the high fees.

Well, students in local are swamped with too much theory with limited attention given to problem-solving. They are not equipped with skills to transform their theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge. As a result, they are left with little ability to think out of the box, let alone the ability to inspire national development through new ideas.

Does this sound familiar? Unfortunately, that is what our education system moulds us into.

A good education system is a prerequisite to building human capital, which is transformed later on into a national-development asset. No one disputes the value of an education because it is priceless. What is often debated is how a country should improve its educational policies for the future of its citizens.

I can say that Malaysians are often the subjects of “policy experimentation”. Every few years, along comes a new idea to “save” Malaysian schools, be it enforcing standards, introducing new policies, abolishing examinations or paying teachers based on performance.

Each year, the education sector receives a high allocation in the national budget in order to enhance our education system. Similarly, in Budget 2014, the education sector received the biggest allocation at RM54.6 billion or 21% of the overall budget.

This indicated the government’s commitment to enhancing academic performance, competencies and skills. But the high level of centralisation with its top-down approach prevents competent production and dissemination of educational services.

Earlier this year, the World Bank’s senior economist for Malaysia, Dr Frederico Gil Sander, warned that Malaysia should fear that its children were faring worse than Vietnamese children, referring to the Programme for International Student Assessment rankings.

The Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 moved towards a school-based management system to eliminate the emphasis on examinations but judging from the complaints after its implementation, there are still deficiencies.

Adding to this, there is a lack of autonomy in schools because of the rigidity in both the syllabi and method of delivery. Most of the time, teachers do not have the flexibility to be creative and innovative in teaching. Such condition is not conducive to promoting and enhancing academic excellence.

Moreover, the government’s flip-flop decisions on education policies are creating more and more confusion, not only for the educators, but also for parents and children.

The recent leaks of the UPSR Science and English papers affected nearly half a million pupils. The incident has shaken the public’s faith in our education system. Among the solutions proposed to stop leaks is printing UPSR papers in the United Kingdom.

But the issue now is not about where the examination papers are printed; the flaw is within the system itself.

What had happened establishes one fact — our education system is in a total mess and mismanaged. In view of the magnitude of the problem, it needs a complete overhaul. It is, therefore, time to establish an engagement approach to improve our education system. The current system has thus far failed to meet the country’s needs.

If we want to do well, then policymakers would need to rise above political considerations and not be driven by individual interest whenever they draft a policy. Blueprints are pointless if there is no political will to see them through. We need real structural change.

This is a national problem and requires collective effort. Nothing will change unless we as citizens collectively do something to voice our frustrations.

While ensuring our education system has the broadest possible coverage in term of quantity, more critically, we have neglected the quality of education.

Let us not put at risk our children’s future by failing to act on the deteriorating standards at all levels. After all, the education of our children is what will determine our future as a developed nation. — The Malaysian Insider

Ying Hooi is attached to a local university. Her research interests cover the fields of civil society, social movements, protests, political participation, human rights and democratisation.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 22, 2014.