Losing faith in reform of Malaysian education system

TO put it bluntly, I have lost confidence in our education system.

There were high expectations after the new government came into power after May 9,2018 with

its promises of reforms, and we hoped that our education system would be restored to its previous glory. But after the blunders in the past one-and-half years, I see little hope in Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik turning things around for the better.

I have little choice now but to pull my children out of the national school system despite having to work much harder to afford private education for them.

From my observations, recent developments in the Education Ministry show that Maszlee has little or no experience in running the ministry, which is close to the hearts of all Malaysians.

His suggestion to implement free breakfast for all children will cost millions, if not billions, of ringgit; money that could be used for more meaningful things like upgrading school facilities. After all, not all children will eat their breakfast.

His latest blunder was to propose the abolition of streaming in upper secondary level. When you abolish streaming, you will end up with a rojak curriculum where the children become a jack of all trades but master of none. Their grounding in the sciences or arts would not be strong enough for them to survive their university education.

Already, the national syllabus is rojak at best, with more subjects and topics being introduced every year. I cannot imagine my children having to go through the next 10 years of their education learning things that are not relevant to their future careers.

Just think of a 10-year-old child having to learn two or three languages, Science and Mathematics, plus a host of the other subjects like Health Science, Physical Education, Architecture (reka bentuk), Moral and Civics Education, Information Technology, Arts and Craft, History and Geography. On top of these, there’s Khat and Chinese calligraphy too.

Furthermore, some principals, especially in Chinese schools, are adding to the financial burdens of the parents by asking them to buy more workbooks than allowed by the ministry.

When my son was in Standard Three, I was shocked to see that he had 21 workbooks. When he moved up to Standard Four, he had to go through a total of 440 pages for just one subject, Bahasa Melayu.

By comparison, schools conducting international syllabi such as IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) only require the children to concentrate on four or five subjects. They focus only on the key areas that will help fulfil their prerequisites for a university education while the rest can be learnt as a hobby instead of being taught in a classroom situation.

My plan was to put my children in Chinese primary school so that they could learn the language. This means they would have to struggle with Mandarin in the first six years of their education, Bahasa Malaysia in secondary level and then English when they enter university.

Like it or not, for Malaysia to compete internationally, we still need the international languages that are widely used across the world without, of course, neglecting Bahasa Malaysia or the mother tongues, which have their place in the country.

One reason why many of our graduates are not employable is because they cannot even express themselves properly.

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 Many resort to buying academic qualifications and degree or diploma mills

SEVERAL years ago, I met a Penang businessman who had a ‘Dr’ title to his name. When I asked him in English about his field of study, he hesitated.

Pressed for an answer, he gestured with his hands and made drilling sounds to depict the act of digging a road. I then realised he was trying to tell me that his doctoral degree was in civil engineering.

Later, I heard about another Penang businessman who was asked by an air hostess to assist in a medical situation on board a plane because of his ‘Dr’ title.

The businessman hastily clarified in Hokkien to the air hostess, who was also from Penang: “Wah si kim siew eh loh koon. Beh heow kuah lang.” (“I am an animal doctor. I can’t treat humans.”)

The public must be getting used to reading about individuals whom they know did not attend a single day of tertiary education — and can hardly string together a sentence in English — being awarded doctoral degrees.

Instead of gaining respect from their peers, those who pay for their doctorates from degree (or diploma) mills become the object of scorn when they flash their ‘Dr’ titles.

As Penangites become more affluent, they seem to think they can buy anything including educational qualifications.

But no genuine institution of higher learning will confer degrees on ineligible individuals, no matter how much money is given.

So people turn to degree mills, those unaccredited education institutions that offer academic degrees and diplomas for a fee.

Degree mills look impressive and genuine because they often claim to be recognised by Unesco, an agency of the United Nations that promotes education and communication. However, the Unesco website states clearly that it does not have the mandate to accredit or recognise higher education institutions.

People who buy from diploma/degree mills know exactly what they are paying for and probably think they are not committing any crime. But they should be aware that the authorities will not hesitate to act.

Last July, it was reported that the police were tracking 525 people who allegedly bought fake degrees and certificates from non-existent international universities.

Some 40 individuals, including a Tan Sri and several politicians, had their statements recorded as part of the police investigation into fake academic degrees bought from an education institute in Selangor.

If Penang is serious about developing itself into an educational hub, the state government should ensure that it does not appoint individuals who have dubious doctoral degrees to sit in the various bodies set up to look into improving aspects of the economy, education, transport and tourism.

It may be customary for institutions of higher learning to confer honorary degrees on individuals for their contributions to society. It is equally customary for the recipients to refrain from using the ‘Dr’ title.

Some of these people think it is fashionable to use the ‘Dr’ prefix, but in reality it can be misleading.

Universities are concerned that the public may be confused by an honorary doctorate and the doctorate awarded to those who meet the academic requirements.

Therefore, some universities have begun awarding such honorary degrees as LittD (Doctor of Letters), LHD (Doctor of Humane Letters) and ScD (Doctor of Science) instead of the usual PhD to avoid further confusion.

- Contributed by David Tan, Pinang Points

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Malaysia's public universities: study hard and be let down again: top scorer, no offer; low point for high achievers!

It’s a perennial problem – more top scorers than places at public universities for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. The cheapest route to these degrees is fraught with uncertainties and heartache.

IT costs the government about RM70,000 a year to train a medical student at a public university. That works out to RM350,000 for a five-year course.

But a student who gains a place at one of the dozen public institutions offering medicine forks out less than RM20,000 in total tuition fees; the rest is subsidised by the Government.

Does it not then make sense for any brilliant student whose family cannot afford the RM350,000 to RM1mil for a private or foreign degree to spend two years doing Form Six and sitting for the STPM?

Everyone knows that the STPM or Malaysian Higher School Certificate is seriously tough, more difficult to excel in than the internally examined Matriculation offered mainly at matriculation colleges where 90% of the students are bumiputra.

That is why every student who slogs away and scores the maximum CGPA of 4.0 feels “cheated” of the cheapest route to a medical degree when they fail to secure a place at a public university.

This applies to other critical courses like dentistry, pharmacy and certain branches of engineering too. When even those with a CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of 4.0 don’t make the grade for medicine, they will be “dumbed down” to take up their second and third choices of the critical courses; and in the process, raise the cut-off point for these courses.

The spillover effect will be felt by those with lower CGPA scores who had hedged their bets by applying for dentistry and pharmacy.

This translates to more applicants crying foul because they didn’t get their course of choice despite having almost perfect scores.

There is also a perceived lack of transparency in the information made available for “strategic” application on the part of STPM students.

For one, while STPM results are made public, matriculation results are not. (Last year, there were 83,000 Form Six and 26,000 matriculation students.)

As an STPM candidate, you don’t know where you stand against the others competing for the limited places. In 2004, for example, when “Medic blues” (same issue of top scorers not getting into medicine) made headlines, there were 527 STPM students with CGPA 4.0 but more than double (1,247) with the same grade via matriculation.

For STPM students who may take up to five subjects, their CGPA scores are calculated based on the best four subjects, including General Studies.

The results of students from both “streams” are merged into a master list for allocation of places in universities.

Perfect score students failing to get their preferred course – this year, some were offered nothing – is a perennial problem.

But it is more acute in a year when the STPM yields better results while the number of places remain static. A total of 442 who sat the exam last year scored 4.0 compared with 300 the year before.

Last week, Higher Education Department director-general Prof Datuk Dr Morshidi Sirat said in a statement that 41,573 of STPM, matriculation and Asasi (Centre for Foundation Studies) students were successful in gaining admission to 20 public institutions of higher learning.

According to UPU, the coordinating body for intake into public universities, on its Facebook page, there are more than 2,500 (including the 442 from STPM) applicants with a CGPA of 4.0, most of whom applied for competitive courses like medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.

But the number of places allocated for the three courses in all public universities is just 1,078 or less than half the number of perfect top scorers! Imagine the competition, what more for the 699 medical places. It’s 699, 119 and 260 respectively.

If this is an annual predicament, can’t more places be opened up at public and private institutions?

In terms of physical infrastructure, it is possible, although the intake is strictly guided by criteria set by the Malaysian Medical Council. Student-lecturer ratio must match the facilities provided.

But the problem lies in academic staffing and the limited places for clinical training at teaching hospitals.
If public universities are bursting at the seams, the same may not be the case at private universities.

If the Government subsidises a student’s tuition fees at a private university like it does in public universities, more places can definitely be made available.

What the country needs is “good financial modelling”, says Taylor’s University vice-chancellor and president Prof Datuk Dr Hassan Said.

Private institutions too would like to have top scorers enrolled in their medical courses and raise the competition among their students, making it a win-win situation.

Should supply meet demand?

That is a question the Health Ministry has to grapple with. Are there more students who want to be doctors than the country needs?

Currently, doctor-patient ratio in Malaysia is 1:800. We are expected to achieve the 1:600 ratio recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) by 2015.

With the 3,500 doctors (via public and private institutions) that the country is producing annually, the Health Ministry expects to hit doctor patient ratio of 1:400 by 2020, which will exceed WHO’s recommendation.

Doctor wannabes should bear in mind that getting a job may not be as easy in future although the country still lacks specialists.

For medicine, scoring 4.0 may be the main hurdle but it is only the first hurdle. Participation in co-curricular activities also contributes 10% to the total points for entry into public universities.

Universities today want some say on who should join their most competitive course and put candidates through aptitude tests and interviews.

While there are calls for universities to do away with the “subjective” interviews, those in the medical faculties feel strongly that this is the most effective way to gain a snapshot of a candidate. Does he really want to be a doctor or is there parental pressure?

In private institutions like Monash University Sunway campus, an applicant has to go through four “mini” interviews – 10 minutes each with four interviewers separately.

Its head of the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicines and Health Sciences Prof Datuk Dr Anuar Zaini Md Zain shares that the interviews are designed to be as objective and reliable as possible.

He says they are looking for the ability to communicate, empathise, work in a team, and have real expectations of the job.

“You need to be able to communicate and listen or you won’t be able to know your patient’s problem. In fact, the biggest complaint against doctors is that they don’t talk and can’t communicate.

“English proficiency is really important as teaching is mainly in that language, whether in clinical years or post-graduate training anywhere in the world,” says the former medical dean of Universiti Malaya.

Basically, interviews are not designed to fail an applicant but to help weed out the wrong candidates and reduce the attrition rate among medical students.

While it is costly for universities to conduct interviews for every applicant, it will be even costlier for them – and society in the long run – to train the wrong person. 

Common Sen-se By Leanne Go
> Twelve years ago, I wrote a comment on the problem of top STPM scorers not getting their course of choice and titled it “Study hard, come out on top and be let down”. Looks like little has changed. Feedback is welcome at leanne@thestar.com.m

 Top scorers appeal cases after not being offered any courses

KUALA LUMPUR: They are among the brightest students in the country and yet were deemed not good enough for local public universities.

Eight students who scored cumulative grade point average of 4.0 were not offered any courses at the public universities despite successfully submitting their forms to enter the universities.

They are among the 108 appeal cases that MCA has received from students who sat for the STPM and matriculation programme since the issue was highlighted last week. Of the total, 55 have 4.0 CGPA.

MCA education bureau chairman Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said he could not accept the Education Ministry’s excuse that technical error was among the reasons why many top scorers either failed to obtain places at public universities or did not get courses of their choice.

“They obtained 4.0 CGPA. Don’t tell me they do not know how to fill a form.

“I cannot accept this silly explanation. It is grossly unfair to the students,” he said after meeting 22 students and their families at Wisma MCA yesterday.

Dejected lot: MCA education bureau chairman Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong looking at the top scorers’ results. — AZLINA ABDULLAH / The Star

His remarks at the press conference were greeted by applause from those present.

Further substantiating his point over the issue of technical error, Dr Wee pointed out that 16 of the 22 students were called for an interview with Universiti Sains Malay­sia.

“If it was a technical error, how could USM call them for an interview?” he asked.

He said the party would seek the help of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to resolve the issue.

Najib, in a tweet, said he knew some were disappointed at not getting places in universities.

“But don’t give up. (I) will discuss at Cabinet this week how best to help these students,” he said.

MIC national youth council member G. Kalaicelvan said the MIC received many complaints of top Indian students not getting courses of their choice.

“Most want to do medicine and their STPM results meet the requirement but somehow they do not get a place in the public universities,” said Kalaicelvan.

He said many Indian students end up disappointed after the STPM results are out every year.
“It’s a never-ending problem,” he said.

- The Star/Asia News Network

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Proud of dubious titles: Datukship award ...

  
Abdul Latif presenting an award to Koh at an investiture ceremony at the ‘balai rasmi’ in Simpang Ampat, Malacca, on Feb 16, 2013

PETALING JAYA: Scores of recipients of questionable awards from territorial chieftains are shamelessly displaying their dubious titles of “Datuk”, “Datuk Paduka” and “Datuk Seri” online.

A website lists a number of people with Datukships conferred by Malacca’s Undang Luak of Naning, Dato’ Seri Raja Merah Dato’ Abdul Latif Hashim.

The website also contains a full list of awards conferred by the chieftain, compri­sing 60 awards under 11 categories.

Awards in the first 10 categories come with different titles while the last category – with three awards – does not come with a title.

The categories range from Anugerah Darjat Kerabat Gelaran, which lists the highest award as the Darjah Kerabat Undang Naning, to the Anugerah Kehormat Gelaran, which carries the title Datuk.

The Star reported recently that Abdul Latif handed out scores of unrecognised Datuk­ships and other titles to those who had “contributed” to the Naning Territory.

Another self-claimed “Malacca-Perak Sul­tan” Ahmad Shah Raja Noor Jan Shah had also awarded titles to over 90 people.

Awards conferred by territorial heads and self-styled traditional leaders are not recognised anywhere in the country, unlike those conferred by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and heads of state.

As of yesterday, two people had been identified on the website as recipients of the highest award, the Darjah Kerabat Undang Naning, which carries the title Datuk Seri Diraja.

Twenty-three others carry the title “Datuk”, of whom 17 were awarded the Darjah Kehormat Undang Naning while the rest were conferred the Darjah Kehormat Wilayah Naning.

Other titled recipients are Datuk Paduka Seri and Datuk Jaksa (six recipients each), Datuk Seri (one recipient), Datuk Paduka (nine recipients) and Datuk Panglima (five recipients).

The website also contains background information on Naning Territory, photographs of the Naning flag and those of its divisions, the current chieftain of Naning and pictures of his birthday in 2010.

‘I was told to pay RM90,000 for award’

By LOSHANA K. SHAGAR  loshana@thestar.com.my

 

KUALA LUMPUR: A week after his face appeared in the newspaper, a recipient of the unrecognised Dato Kehormat Undang Naning award has claimed that he was led to believe the award was genuine and he almost paid RM90,000 for it.

Sebestian Koh, 49, said there were over 100 recipients that day receiving one of three titles – Datuk Seri, Datuk Paduka and Datuk.

Koh also refuted a statement by Malacca’s Undang Luak of Naning, Dato’ Seri Raja Merah Dato’ Abdul Latif Hashim, that he did not confer the title.

Showing photographs of him receiving the award at the “balai rasmi” in Simpang Ampat, Malacca, on Feb 16, Koh said: “I think the confusion must have arisen because there were so many people being awarded titles that day, so he (Abdul Latif) might not have remembered me.

“I was told by a friend, who also received the award, that it was recognised by the Government. He said I could even include the title in my MyKad and passport.

“Although I had never heard of the award, I decided to accept it since they were conferring it on me anyway.”

Koh was speaking to reporters at the MCA Public Service and Com­plaints Department yesterday.

The Star had front-paged the issue of questionable titles conferred by Naning chieftains and interviewed Abdul Latif and Ahmad Shah Raja Noor Jan Shah, who claimed to be the “Malacca-Perak Sultan”.

Abdul Latif had said that the investiture ceremony to confer titles was purely customary and the awards were merely customary titles with no connection to those bestowed by the Malacca Government.

In November last year, Koh said his friend, a certain “Datuk” Teoh, had called to inform him about the Datukship and handed over a “surat watikah”.

He said he was also informed about the RM90,000 “standard donation” for the title, which would be “contributed” to the Naning territory.

Before the investiture ceremony, Koh said he paid RM6,000 for a yellow sash with red stripes, a medal with the words “Dato Kehormat” and a card identifying him as a title holder.

When asked if he knew that the award was dubious, Koh admitted that he did know that the historical state had no sultan.

“The one conferring the title claimed to be a descendant of the Malacca sultanate and I asked around to check if this was true,” he said, confessing however that this was not done thoroughly as whatever information he had, coupled with Teoh’s persuasion, made everything “look very real”.

A few months after he accepted the award, Koh said his friends asked if they could advertise their congratulatory messages, to which he agreed.

“Only after The Star article on the Datuks of Naning was published did I realise that I had received an unrecognised award. My friends are laughing at me for being a recipient of a fake award. It is very embarrassing.”

When asked about his next move, Koh said he would not lodge a police report but had set aside the award and moved on.

On whether the award might be revoked if he did not settle the “standard donation”, Koh waved it off as a non-issue, adding that “it was not recognised anyway”.

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Studying hard to save

If a student studies hard and keeps his results consistently high, he ends up paying very little for his degree at a private institution.

Cost-saving route: With a little homework, students with good grades will be able to secure a partial scholarship at private institutions.

IT is so competitive out there that private universities and colleges are practically beating a path to the high achievers' doors to recruit them.

The better their results, the higher the “discount” in the tuition fees at pre-university level. An SPM student with 8As may get RM4,000 to RM8,000 in scholarship, depending on the institution and course.

In the words of a marketer, “we are almost paying them to study with us.”

Most partial scholarships start with 6As and above, and results like that are pretty common among urban schoolchildren. In fact, one premier private university estimates that 50% to 60% of its students enrol with six to eight distinctions.

And yet, many parents and students are ignorant of how easy it can be to secure partial scholarships if only some homework is done.

For a start, students should make their school counsellors their “best friend”. The counsellors are a gem of information and resource as they are the contact point for foreign and local institutions as well as corporations that wish to offer financial assistance. Every top university targets counsellors of premier schools!

Hence, counsellors at such schools can really make a difference. Those who are committed and passionate ones know what are on offer and constantly hound their good students to put in their applications and go for scholarship interviews.

They know, for example, that a high achiever with strong co-curricular and is able to impress at the interview can secure between RM3,000 and RM18,000 in tuition fee waiver months before he even sits for his SPM exam.

The amount may prove a significant percentage of a pre-university course that is priced at RM18,000 to RM25,000 (tuition fees only).

The best time to get cracking is when private institutions set their “school team” on the hunt in July (till September) to “lock in” the best students for their following January intake. One top university targets 300 schools during this period.

For this “early bird” scholarship, institutions take into consideration the student's first term and mid-year results. And if the actual SPM results prove even better, the university will top up the scholarship quantum. But if the results are worse, there's no refund.

So, students should make it known to their counsellors that they are on the lookout for specific scholarships and be persistent till the end. Most universities won't advertise their scholarships, as they prefer to go through schools.

However, most students only start checking out scholarships after the SPM exam, only to find that deadlines for applications and interviews have come and gone.

Perhaps one reason for their tardiness is that they are still clueless about their area of interest while scholarships are often discipline specific.

If money in the family is tight, seriously consider saving the pre-university fees at private institutions by opting for Sixth Form.

A sixth former also has the benefit of having two pathways before him: public universities and private institutions. If he chooses the latter, what is saved in the pre-university fees can go towards the first year of a private degree.

Note to undergraduates listen, listen, listen

If you've made it to pre-U with a partial scholarship, keep up your grades because that will continue to literally earn you thousands of ringgit each year.

An institution is usually more generous with its scholarship for a continuing student from a pre-university or foundation course into its degree programme, so avoid switching institutions to maximise your scholarship.

For a business degree that costs about RM80,000 over three years, the savings can be 30%, 50% or 75% per year in tuition fees if you keep an average grade of 60%, 65% or 70% respectively. Not a difficult feat, according to a top private institution, as many of their students qualify for 30% to 50% scholarship bracket.

But here's the catch: you have to reapply for the scholarship every year if you meet the grade.

If you don't apply for it, it's your loss! Many just don't realise the “reward” in store.

At one university, a student who maintains a grade average of 70% could end up paying RM26,000 instead of RM78,000, a savings of almost RM60,000 over three years.

If you're not just book smart but also streetwise, you'll find yourself in very good financial standing as a PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) loan recipient.

As a business degree undergraduate from a middle income family with several siblings, you may qualify for up to RM16,000 in loan each year, banked into your account. If you spend all your time mugging in the library instead of mucking around and qualify for a 75% scholarship, you end up collecting close to RM50,000 in loan over three years but paying only half of that in fees!

Can you get a better deal than that?

Think what you can do with the difference between the loan amount and the fees that you actually paid. Maximise the 15-year tenure that you are allowed to pay off your loan at PTPTN's current 1% per annum flat rate.

This translates to just RM320 a month based on RM50,000 principal and RM7,500 in interest.

The 1% flat rate that the Government has been offering since June 2008 is so much better than the 3% and 4% per annum on reducing balance prior to that. The interest undergraduates were paying then worked out to be twice the amount.

The 1% flat rate works out to be an “effective” or real rate of 1.9%. Compare that to the effective rate of 5% for a car loan and a mortgage rate of 4%.

It beats any consumer loan you'll ever get and with zero collateral to boot!

So who says a fresh graduate can't have his cake and eat it too?

Note: With the SPM results just out and many still shopping for their courses and scholarships, the writer wishes them “bon appetit”! Feedback is welcome at leanne@thestar.com.my