Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on January 18 - 24, 2015.

 

Parents deserve sympathy ahead of the start of every new academic year, having to deal with new school uniforms, shoes, stationery, school bags, new bus fares and new books of sorts, although recycled textbooks will still be provided by the Ministry of Education (MOE) this year until a new syllabus kicks in the next. But all that is really not new, except for parents starting their eldest child in Primary or Form One.

One can opt for cheaper alternatives, such as shopping at hypermarkets that advertise bargains galore rather than go to shopping malls or specialist shops. Parents can also recycle boys’ slacks and girls’ pinafores and “kain kurung”, which are usually made of a thicker material.

So, buy a size larger and sew the hem up to make uniforms last two years and recycle partially used exercise books as these can be put aside to work out those darn maths questions — practice makes perfect. Girls’ shoes tend to last longer than boys’ (having both sons and daughters, I know). Then reuse the more hardy school bags and look for pre-loved uniforms of uniformed bodies, which are mandatory but only worn once a week during the co-curriculum period, and hence are fairly new.

While these ideas appear simple, savings can be made, if only a little. Impress on the children that not everything needs to be new in the new academic year and they will appreciate your ideas of values, stretching scarce resources and simple financial management. Parents have to be creative and ingenious with managing money if they want to have more than the average number of children in a Malaysian family. It is a responsibility but also an investment, with long-term benefits to be reaped.

But what is really new is the start of Wave 2 of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (MEB). While the MEB is no longer new, Wave 2 is. It starts now and is slated to end in 2020 when Wave 3 will begin. What can parents expect?

Wave 2 promises “structural changes aimed at accelerating the pace of change”, including “rolling out the curriculums for secondary KSSM in 2017 and revising the primary KSSR in 2016 and increasing public interest and awareness in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Additionally, there are pilot options to increase English language exposure; enhancing programmes for groups with specific needs; speeding up information and communications technology innovations; enhancing teacher coaching and support; enhancing competency and performance-based progressions; strengthening core divisions, streamlining federal, state and district roles; obtaining international accreditation and enhancing the matriculation programme; and expanding vocational education options”.

We have written extensively on the progress of the English language and STEM in schools but often, the argument without fail is that the majority of the teachers in the system now are the products of supposedly mediocre Malay-medium national schools. So, how can we expect these teachers to buck the trend and excel?

The focus on teachers in Wave 2 is threefold — the continuing effort to upgrade trainee recruitment, enhancing career pathways and revamping career progression will be the motivation for teachers to excel.

On a school WhatsApp chat group in which I am is a posting on an offer for SPM school-leavers who would like to pursue the teaching profession. Applicants must have a minimum of five As with distinctions in Bahasa Melayu and Sejarah and a pass in English. Applications will open on Feb 17 and end on March 8. For further information, click on www.musadun.com/2015/02/permohonan-maktab-perguruan-2015.

Since the vision of the Malaysian education system is heading towards a predominantly bilingual education, in time, we hope that the criteria for the English language requirement will be gradually tightened to a credit rather than a mere pass.

The MOE has promised that only the best trainees from every graduating class will be recruited as teachers. There is also an effort to seek international recognition of the IPG (teacher training institute), returning credence to the long-respected profession.

Teachers will now be able to choose their specialisation. They can remain as teachers in schools; pursue a leadership or management position in school, PPD (district education office), JPN (state education department) or MOE; or be a subject matter expert such as a teacher coach or trainer, IPG or IAB (Aminuddin Baki Institute) lecturer or a curriculum and assessment developer. Teachers’ competences will be enhanced and developed and thus empower the individual teacher.

High-performing teachers will be sought and rewarded with a fast-track scheme where they will be able to progress through a shorter time frame, thus increasing their total lifetime earnings. Extra credit will be given to teachers who agree to be deployed to rural and/or under-performing schools. This will address the issue that only the best teachers are seen to be in urban schools.

Parents have had their fair share of “poor” teachers. An exit/deployment policy is now in place where teachers who perform poorly for three consecutive years can now be placed out of schools or away from the system altogether.

Safeguards are being taken and the MOE appears to be committed to raising the quality of teachers. Parents, while we hope they will be patient, should continue to ensure that the best is provided for their children, particularly with the Dual Language Programme in Primary One, Four and Form One in their respective schools.


Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim is chairman, Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia. PAGE is an educational lobby that serves as a channel between concerned parents, the Ministry of Education and other educational stakeholders.

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