Time for change

MALAYSIA'S EDUCATION DISASTER - TIME FOR CHANGE
An Open Letter From Koon Yew Yin
Dec 20, 2012

As election day comes closer, we will be asked for reasons as to why we should want to change the BN.
When the question is put to me, I tell people that there is no need to enumerate three, four or five reasons.
One simple reason alone is sufficient for Malaysians to elect a new government.

The reason is that the BN has ruined our educational system and put us back at least one generation in our educational standards and standing.

When the country became independent in 1957 our educational system was acknowledged to be amongst the best in the region - and our standard of English education was second to none then.

Today, post May 13 1969, after the introduction of NEP policies in education, we are scraping the bottom of an empty barrel in our standards of educational achievement at all levels. BN's record Whether it is in primary, secondary or tertiary education, the rot and decay is clear. Half literate primary school dropouts that cannot write or speak properly in either English or Bahasa; secondary students with abysmal standards in Mathematics, Science and other core subjects; tertiary students who are provided with glossy university degrees but in fact are unemployable except in the civil service.
This is the disastrous outcome of UMNO BN rule. This is the result of the politicisation of the educational system and UMNO's cynical use of our education system as a political and racial football.
Whether it is with regard to mission schools or vernacular schools or SRJK schools; teaching of science and mathematics; teaching of English; or worst, the creeping Islamisation of our schools; appointment of administrators and heads of schools; the curriculum; examinations; vocational education; funding and allocations - UMNO has inserted its racial and political agenda to debase and corrupt the system. Even issues of race and religion can get mixed up in the food and drinks served in the school canteens. If readers think that I am overly critical of the BN, let me provide two pieces of evidence on the disaster in our education. The first is from the government itself. According to the national education blueprint (Preliminary report, Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, pp, E4-E5), Malaysia was ranked in the bottom third of 74 participating countries of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009+.

60% of the 15-year-old Malaysian students who participated in Pisa failed to meet the minimum proficiency level in Mathematics, while 44% and 43% did not meet the minimum proficiency levels in Reading and Science respectively.

A comparison of scores shows that 15-year-olds in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Shanghai are performing as though they have had three or more years of schooling than 15-year-olds in Malaysia.

Low achievement standards in TIMSS (Maths and Science): far behind first tier; now comparable to countries such as Indonesia.
By 2007 (last published cycle) 18% and 20% of our students failed to meet the minimum proficiency standards in Maths and Science.

The conclusion of the blueprint is shocking. Not only are the gaps between Malaysia and other countries in our region growing, international assessments also revealed that Malaysian student performance is declining in absolute terms.

This dismal and damning conclusion - that we are going backwards instead of moving forward in our education standards and achievement - shows that the problem is not a new one.

It is a long-standing crisis which the BN has successfully concealed from Malaysians thanks to media manipulation and its diversionary focus on use of Bahasa Malaysia as a political weapon and Chinese school issues.

It is a longstanding and divisive "us versus them" issue -between the Malays and non Malays, between Muslims versus non Muslims. In other words, our education system is hijacked or ransomed to serve UMNO's agenda of political survival. Playing up on issues of race and religion is the bane in our schools now.

But it is no longer easy to fool Malaysians thanks to the internet media and the availability of international assessment results.

Hence the latest educational scandal in which the Education Ministry is accused of lowering the Maths and Science standards for the PMR and SPM examinations to artificially increase the pass rate does not shock me in the least.

Such efforts have been taking place for the past thirty years, especially in the public universities.
How else then to account for the hundreds of thousands of graduates who are unemployable?

My personal experience

The second piece of evidence is one derived from personal experience. For several years now, I have been providing scholarships to poor young Malaysians so that they will be able to go to the university to improve their life and career opportunities.

Below are examples of letters I have received from two applicants requesting for financial assistance (details of my scholarship program here).

What is important to note is that although these are written by pre-university students, the level of English language competency attained is lower than that of a primary student during my time. The standard of English proficiency is pathetic.

Sadly, they are not isolated cases - in fact they are typical of students who have been through our educational system and whose decline in standards has been due to BN rule.

Letter 1

Mr.Koon,

I am ____________,I already take my SPM result~I'm interest on account Can you sponsor me about the study fees at Utar?

BM:B
BI:B+
PM:A-
SJ:A-
MM:A+

MT:A+
BIO:B
CHE:B
PHY:B
BC:B

This are my SPM result.

Letter 2

Mrs.Koon, i am October Intake UTAR new degree student , my name is ______ from kampar, i am facing financial problem after i successful register Utar degree course, now i am stay at Kampar and open school already.

As i know UTAR can let student to borrow PTPTN loan to complete Degree. But after i successful register Degree course, UTAR stuff just tell me UTAR are not offer student to apply PTPTN loan on this semester, and i need to pay course fee and register fee first.

Sure i come from poor family, my family income below RM 1600 per month. My family never and not able to pay my fee around RM4000 at my first semester, i need to pay the bill before 23 october, if not i forced to leaving school, i am very anxious now!

Before I am getting news from Mr.__________, may be i can getting financial aid from Mrs.Koon, so the purpose i send the gmail to Mrs.Koon is i requesting for financial aid to start and continue my degree course program in UTAR, i really want to start my study life and dream at UTAR.


Mind you, these letters are written by our university level students.

At the election booth

In conclusion, private education has become a very profitable business as parents scramble to remedy the damage in the public system and use up their precious savings or mortgage their houses to enable their kids to get a decent education.

For this reason too, private universities and colleges are springing up like mushrooms. Mind you, for creating the rotten mess in the first place the BN politicians are now unscrupulously milking the system in connivance with their business interests to cash in on the private education market.

All of them are lowering entry requirements to capture more students. As a result, students like the two above were accepted to study in Utar.

Many people have the wrong impression that MCA's Utar is a charitable organisation set up to help the Chinese. In fact if you examine MCA's annual report, you will see that Utar is one of the best profit-making ventures for MCA. I daresay all our private colleges and universities had Ali Baba UMNO nominees as directors in their midst.

Remember, the power to change the rotting education system is in your hands when you go to vote.

This message is especially directed at all parents and students - Malays, Chinese, Indians and other Malaysians - who have suffered as a result of BN incompetence and bad governance.

Written by Koon Yew Yin