Biting the Bullet?

Winds of Change?

Perhaps this may be the first time that the denial syndrome of our awful education performance viz-a -viz other nations has been put aside. There is an indication that the winds may be changing.

There is also a vindication of our DPM and Education Minister that our heads cannot forever remain deep in the ground of feign ignorance.

It has come to pass. Muhyiddin at once admitted that he was shocked with the poor performance of Malaysian students in international assessment tests, despite the tons of money we have spent on education.

If, in the past, he has praised the system, today he has courageously called 'a spade a spade'.

Reports of assessment like Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) showed that the performance of Malaysian students were consistently not up to par.

Even though, our students on the surface appeared 'smart' as testified by our education system, sadly when they are asked to perform in international assessments, they failed to show that prowess. In such international assessments, Malaysian students lagged in the bottom one-third.

The Education Minister seems to have accepted the reality that something is not right with our students particularly the system that has cultured them.

In his speech today at a school in Shah Alam, though he believes that our education standards seemed alright, it is certainly not good enough.

The education system of Malaysia have seen more brickbats than accolades in international comparisons.

According to Pisa's 2012 results, Malaysian students scored below average and ranked 52 out of the 65 countries. In contrast, students in Vietnam ranked 17 out of 65.

– March 13, 2015.

Below Par Malaysian Students

I took this article from on on-line source.

PETALING JAYA (16 May 2014):

Malaysian students are below par when compared with their contemporaries in other countries, acknowledged Education Minister II Idris Jusoh.

Although literacy rates were rising in Malaysia, it was vital to assess and compare the Malaysian education system against international standards, he said.

“Out of 74 countries, Malaysia ranked in the bottom third in the Programme for Interna­tional Student Assessment (Pisa) 2009. This is below the international and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average,” he indicated during the 18th Malaysian Education Summit yesterday.

“Primary and secondary school education standards need to improve to bridge the gap between urban and rural areas. Though Malaysia has achieved commendable results in terms of providing access, we have to now ensure that access comes together with quality education of international standards.”

Meanwhile, at the higher education level, he said that the challenge was producing knowledgeable, competent and globally competitive human capital.

“Employers in Malaysia face a major problem when it comes to having fresh graduates fill out vacancies,” he said, citing poor command of English as one of the reasons.

The solution to this is the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB) 2012-2025, which was launched last September, as well as the soon-to-be-released National Education Blueprint for Higher Education 2015-2025 (Higher Education Blueprint).

Idris said the MEB offered a vision of the education system and students’ aspirations that Malaysia both needed and deserved and outlined 11 strategic and operation shifts that would be required to achieve that vision.

“The need for the Education Blueprint is justified in the context of raising international standards; the government aspiration of better preparing Malaysian children for the needs of the 21st century; and increased public and parental expectations of education policy,” he said.

“We have had international experts from the World Bank, UNESCO, and OECD to work with our national partners to evaluate the performance of our national education system in the development process of the Education Blueprint. Overall, more than 55,000 stakeholders were consulted in its formulation.”

“The Higher Education Blueprint will also be introduced in order to ensure consistency with the primary and secondary education system, and allow for seamless progression in terms of educational offerings, opportunities and advancement,” he added.

The Higher Education Blueprint will address challenges such as empowering university governance, democratising access to higher education and improving graduate employability.

The PISA Wake-up Call?

Education-Key to Your Future

Imagine. 

In the last triennial PISA International Student Education Assessment conducted globally by OECD in 2013, only one out of a hundred 15-year old student from Malaysia was able to solve the given creative problem-solving questions posed. This compares dismally with five in Singapore, Korea and Japan.

Creative Problem-solving

Industrious Asian countries like Korea, Japan, Macau-China, Hong Kong-China, Shanghai-China and Chinese Taipei, along with Singapore, as usual, make up the top seven of the list.

Malaysia ranked close to the bottom of the study at 39th out of 44 countries. This meant that Malaysia took the last 6 position in this study. Her mean score was only 422.

Singapore, meanwhile,came up tops with a score of 562.

The overall mean score for all countries was 500.

Where Malaysia Stands

Let us look at some of the details.

Malaysian students scored below average or ranked 52 out of the 65 countries in mathematics, science and reading.

Malaysia also registered more than half of the share of low achievers, which means the students lacked the skills needed in a modern workplace.

Malaysia's share was sadly below the average percentage of 11.4%.

In the top performance category, Malaysia only had 0.9% share (not even one percent) of top performers as compared with Singapore's 29.3%.

Conversely, Singapore only had 8% share of low achievers. The mean share was 21.4%.

An interesting observation is Vietnam. She fared much better than Malaysia although 45% of its 15-year-olds did not even have the opportunity to go to school. 

Vietnamese students ranked 17 out of 65.

It was perceived that countries which performed well in the PISA invested in education as a vehicle for a better future and ensured accountability in educational standards.This investment in education is oftentimes, accompanied by high aspirations as a nation to build on human capital for the country's betterment and economic growth.

For competitive nations, the government and society have a big responsibility in education. Schools are not seen as a means for a select few to go on to a government career. Instead, it is regarded as an avenue where every student can learn to make the best of their own potential and talent.

Kiasu Singapore Goes For Cooking

Cooking up a storm

Yes, these days, girls must learn how to cook good.

A friend just told me her grand-daughter who is schooling in Singapore got top marks in English.

However, she scored ever poorly in cooking which Singapore insists should be the innate quality of a good wife and mother.

So, for those desiring to go to Singapore to study on an ASEAN scholarship, make sure you learn as much from you mum before crossing the Causeway.