No News Is Bad News
UPDATE:
Do away with race-based education quotas, says Muda
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last week said that the quota system for Bumiputera students in education has to be maintained.
Faisal Asyraf - 10 Jul 2023, 3:28pm
Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has noted how straight-A students who failed to secure places in public matriculation programmes have been offered spots in top global universities.
PETALING JAYA: Muda has called for a shift in the education system from a race-based approach to a needs-based approach.
At a press conference here, Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said this would ensure that students who excel in their studies will get university places.
The Muar MP noted how straight-A students who failed to secure a place in public matriculation programmes have been offered spots in top global universities, such as Harvard and Oxford.
“To solve this problem, Muda suggests that we transition from a purely race-based system to a hybrid needs-based and merit-based system,” he said.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that the quota system for Bumiputera students in education has to be maintained.
He stressed that the government must also find ways to help non-Bumiputera students who excel in their studies.
Elaborating further, Syed Saddiq said there must be political will to admit that the existing system is flawed and needs holistic improvement.
“If we remain quiet and refuse to have political will, this issue will persist.
“At the end of the day, there will be a brain drain, and Malaysians as a whole will lose out,” he said, adding that currently there are more than 1.7 million Malaysians working abroad.
He explained that a needs-based system would see students with good grades and from poor backgrounds be given priority access to education.
Syed Saddiq also suggested that the proposal be brought to Parliament for discussion.
“This proposal should be bipartisan in nature and transcend personal politics and interests,” he said.
Syed Saddiq added that the government must also address SPM leavers who are not interested in pursuing further studies.
He cited education ministry research, which showed that almost half of SPM students from 2021 chose not to continue their studies.
How much longer should we rely on quotas in universities?
It is perplexing to still rely on the quota system after 65 years of independence for a multiracial country like Malaysia.
Letter to the Editor - 10 Jul 2023, 3:32pm
From Muzaffar Syah Mallow
During a recent dialogue session with students at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated that the quota system for Bumiputera students should be retained to maintain racial balance in local public institutions of higher learning.
He further added that any effort to do away with the system would lead to an imbalance in Malay student enrolment into certain programmes in universities.
Does this mean that the quota system will be maintained within our education system forever?
Why is it so difficult for us to have healthy and fair competition within the education system without the need for quotas?
What is a quota system?
A quota system involves policies or practices that reserve a certain number or percentage of seats or slots for a specific group of applicants based on their identity, background, or affiliation.
Quota systems are often used as a form of affirmative action to increase the representation and participation of historically marginalised or under-represented groups in education.
Quota systems can also be used to balance or diversify the composition of a student body, faculty, or research team.
However, it is important to highlight that there are advantages and disadvantages to the quota system.
The pros and cons vary depending on the context, purpose, design, implementation, and evaluation of the quota system itself.
Instead of relying on a quota system, it would be much better if we could implement merit-based admission criteria in education.
Merit-based admission criteria are seen as a way to ensure fairness, quality, and diversity in academic institutions.
They include standards and requirements that applicants have to meet or exceed in order to be accepted into an educational programme or institution.
Merit-based admission criteria can include academic performance, test scores, extracurricular activities, personal statements, interviews, and other indicators of aptitude, achievement, and potential.
The aim is to select the best and most suitable candidates for a given field of study or level of education.
However, like the quota system, merit-based admission criteria also have their pros and cons.
Nevertheless, if we compare the quota system and merit-based admission criteria, the latter is a better approach to ensure the quality of graduates we produce and that our educational system improves.
Times have changed and our educational system needs to change as well.
We need to ensure that the graduates we produce have the qualities, abilities, and capabilities to compete within the multiracial Malaysian society and at the global level.
There is concern that if Malaysia continues to maintain the quota system in education, the country will be unable to select students based on their actual qualities and capabilities.
Producing graduates full of potential is crucial for our society and nation-building.
It is perplexing to still rely on the quota system after 65 years of independence for a multiracial country like Malaysia.
Healthy and fair competition should be allowed to thrive within the education system.
The government should establish a special committee comprising experts in the relevant field to analyse this matter further.
Whatever the case may be, we cannot maintain and rely on an old system if we want to bring the country forward and become a major player on the international stage.
Muzaffar Syah Mallow is an associate professor at the Faculty of Shariah & Law at the Islamic Science University of Malaysia.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
https://www.theborneopost.com/2016/03/03/high-achievers-recommend-stpm-as-path-to-varsity/ (High achievers recommend STPM as path to varsity)
All academic high-achievers should be given slots in public universities to help retain talent
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10, 2023: Yes. Malaysians must not and cannot question the quota system fs it is a policy to protect the rights and well-being of Malays.
But it was most delighting to hear the 10th Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim say: quotas for Bumiputeras in institutions of higher learning should be maintained though slots should also be given to high-achievers from other communities.
And MCA’s criticism of the quota system certainly shows how outdated it is politically, still engaging in racial confrontation instead of moving forward with constructive proposals like what Anwar said.
Is it then a wonder why MCA is today politically irrelevant to Malaysians?
No News Is Bad News certainly pray and hope that sane Malays, not the racial and religious bigots, will not object to giving high-achievers from other communities slots in public universities.
Such a move will certainly help retain talent, raise the quality and competency of Malaysia’s human capital to attract both domestic and foreign investors.
That is just common sense, practical and realistic. But will it be practiced by those making decisions in the Higher Education Ministry?
Obviously not in the past and now. The thousands of high-achievers or straight A’s STPM students who had to go overseas to further their tertiary education (and then did not return home) is testimony to the drain in talent.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below past news reports on the issue of Malaysia drain in talent:
Varsity quota misconstrued by MCA, says Zahid
The deputy prime minister said the existence of the quota does not mean other students would be barred from enrolling into public universities.
Faiz Zainudin - 09 Jul 2023, 10:49pm
The government has stated that the Bumiputera quota on university admissions would be maintained, prompting criticism from Nicole Wong of MCA Youth.
KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi believes that MCA Youth chief Nicole Wong has misinterpreted the government’s stand on quotas for Bumiputeras in higher learning institutions.
Zahid, who is also Barisan Nasional chairman, said maintaining the Bumiputera quota does not mean that other students would be barred from enrolling into public universities.
“Of course, there will be a quota for the Bumiputeras, as it’s stated in the Federal Constitution. But that does not mean we are denying (students) of other ethnicities from enrolling.
“I think it is a misunderstanding that can be corrected,” Zahid told reporters at a press conference at Dataran Merdeka here.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said quotas for Bumiputeras in institutions of higher learning should be maintained though slots should also be given to high-achievers from other communities.
Wong was quoted by Malaysiakini earlier today as disagreeing with Anwar on the matter, saying it made it seem like Malaysia had regressed to the 1960s and 1970s.
She claimed that the quota was one of the reasons why local public varsities have failed to rise in global university rankings.
Thursday, 6 July 2023
Wake up Mr Education Minister and Unity Government! Malaysia in dire need of a total revamp to retain talent!
No News Is Bad News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osyzf-Gt1Eo (European Girls Math Olympiad 2023 - Is the dance cooler or Problem 3 cooler?)
Wake up Mr Education Minister and Unity Government! Malaysia in dire need of a total revamp to retain talent!
KUALA LUMPUR, July 6, 2023: It is a universal fact that losing talent or brains retard a country’s socio-economic growth.
When a country loses talent, the quality of human capital is thus sub-standard and investors, both domestic and foreign, will find difficulty in recruiting competent workers to ensure high and quality productivity.
They are then dissuaded from making any investments.
Malaysia has been losing tens of thousands of talented students who are denied entry into public universities.
They are forced to further their education overseas, and most of them do not want to return home after graduation.
And these talents are not only Chinese and Indians, but Malays as well.
It is therefore, baffling, why Malaysian federal governments (elected by the people every five years), since Merdeka (Independence) 1957, continue to frustrate talented academic high achievers, driving them to migrate.
Today, there is even a Court of Appeals hearing to determine whether vernacular schools (Chinese and Tamil schools) can use Chinese and Tamil as a medium of instruction.
Take a good look at the picture above of the winning teams at the 12th European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) 2023 held in Slovania from April 13 to 19, hosted by the Society of Mathematicians, Physicists, and Astronomers of Slovenia (DMFA Slovenije).
The champion team was China, runner-up the US and second runner-up Australia.
But take a good and close look at the teammates - they are all ethnic Chinese!
View the video clip above and watch how difficult the competition questions are. (Google for more information on EGMO).
Look at the report below on the US’ team’s achievement this year - no racial discrimination of its proud performance.
No News Is Bad News also reproduces below related news reports on education:
USA Team Earns Second Place at 2023 European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad
20 April 2023
The USA Team earned second place in the 12th European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO), with each student also earning a medal for their individual performances. The EGMO is an international mathematics competition focused on gathering teams of young women from around the globe to engage in a two-day competition.
Typically, the competition is held in rotating European countries. This year, the USA Team traveled to Slovenia to participate. The 2023 US EGMO Team included: Isabella Zhu, age 17; Kristie Sue, age 17; Jessica Wan, age 16; and Vivian Loh, age 16. The USA Team was led by Meghal Gupta and Rachel Zhang, who helped each student prepare and supported pre-competition engagement.
This year’s EGMO saw fierce competition among 55 teams. The USA Team placed second overall and collectively earned 16 additional points compared to previous years. Zhu, Wan, and Loh earned perfect scores and tied with 11 other girls for the number one individual ranking. Along with these achievements, each USA Team member earned individual performance medals:
> Isabella Zhu, Gold Medal;
> Kristie Sue, Gold Medal;
> Jessica Wan, Gold Medal; and
> Vivian Loh, Gold Medal
The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) supports the growth of the USA EGMO Teams each year through the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) by selecting team members from AMC participants. A special thanks to Citadel and Citadel Securities for supporting this year’s team!
It is inspiring to see our USA Team develop collectively and individually in preparation for the EGMO. On behalf of the MAA, we are grateful for the guidance of the USA leader and deputy leader, as they worked robustly with our contestants. Congratulations to all teams competing in the EGMO– together, they are reinforcing normalcy around the mathematical exchange with young women on an international scale.
Nicole Goberdhan, Director of Competition Operations
The MAA is consistently working to celebrate the achievements of young women in the mathematical field and looks forward to recognizing more young women in the 2023 Young Women in Mathematics Awards & Certificates program, the 2023-2024 AMC cycle, and the 2024 EGMO.
Note: The USA EGMO Team was recently featured on the AMC Student Video Podcast: The Curious Cube.
Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Malaysia’s failing academic performance, who to blame?
No News Is Bad News
For image info, go to https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000229719
UPDATE: Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek seem to be dodging the issue of deteriorating academic achievements of Malaysia.
All she said was that the ministry (also read as Government) prefer to highlight the 90% of students who passed their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination, instead of focusing on the 8.4% who failed.
But she also failed to deny online news portal Free Malaysia Today’s report that 23,358 candidates failed History, while 9,642 failed Bahasa Malaysia.
Those who fail the two subjects will not be able to obtain their SPM certificate.
We prefer to highlight those who pass SPM, not those who fail, says Fadhlina
The education minister says the focus has always been on those who pass the exam so that the ministry can ‘move forward’.
Chia Wan Rou and Siti Khadijah Norhisham - 22 Jun 2023, 7:04pm
Education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the ministry would intervene and help those who failed their SPM. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: The education ministry said it would prefer to highlight the 90% of students who passed their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination, instead of focusing on the 8.4% who failed.
Its minister, Fadhlina Sidek, said the focus on those who passed the examination was so the ministry could “move forward”.
“And that is what we want to highlight,” she said, referring to the percentage of those who passed their SPM.
“As for the rest, we will intervene. We need to focus on the next step,” she told reporters after launching a legal aid project by PKR here.
Fadhlina said this when asked to comment on those who had failed their SPM.
A total of 373,974 candidates sat for SPM last year.
Earlier today, FMT reported that 23,358 candidates failed History, while 9,642 failed Bahasa Malaysia.
Those who fail these two subjects will not be able to obtain their SPM certificate.
Malaysia’s failing academic performance, who to blame?
KUALA LUMPUR, June 22, 2023: Of the 373,974 candidates who sat for the SPM last year (2022), 42.9% of the candidates, or 160,435 students, failed at least one subject.
That includes about 90,000 candidates who failed Mathematics and 89,752 who failed English.
Mathematics and English are core subjects that determine the quality and growth of Malaysia’s human capital in Science and Technology in the fast evolving global 21st Century Digital Era.
Is it then a wonder that Malaysia’s education standard is not in the World’s Top 50. The latest statistics available are the 2015 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests, but the focus then were on more affluent industrialised countries.
What must worry educationists and the Education Ministry is the fact that 140,474 candidates failed to obtain their SPM certificates after flopping in Bahasa Melayu or History from 2019 to 2021.
As long as Malaysia fails to lift its education standards and upskill its human capital development to meet current science and technology demands and industry, Malaysia will fail to attract new and valuable investments, both domestic and foreign.
On the local political outlook, who will the Taliban-like PAS and Perikatan Nasional (PN) racial and religious bigots blame for the continuous slide in academic achievements?
Of course not their previous governments nor their leaders, but the current Anwar Ibrahim-led Unity Government which took office in November (2022), about six months ago.
Educationists and the Education and Higher Education Ministries must acknowledge their failures, accept responsibilities and buck up. No excuses, period.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below several news reports on the issue:
90,000 failed SPM maths, 52,000 failed English, says NGO
Untuk Malaysia says overall, the 2022 SPM results showed that 42.9% of the candidates, or 160,435 students, failed at least one subject.
Siti Khadijah Norhisham - 22 Jun 2023, 11:00am
Last year, 33,906 SPM candidates did not get their certificates as they failed either the Bahasa Malaysia or History paper, according to Untuk Malaysia. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Close to 90,000 candidates who sat for last year’s SPM exam failed Mathematics while over 52,000 did not pass English, according to an analysis of the results conducted by NGO Untuk Malaysia.
Of the 373,974 candidates who sat for the SPM last year, a total of 89,752 candidates (24.3%) failed Mathematics and 52,674 candidates (14.3%) did not pass English.
“This analysis was conducted based on the SPM 2022 examination results analysis report published by the Malaysian Examination Board (LPM) and the announcement of the results by the education director-general on the education ministry’s Facebook page on June 8,” Untuk Malaysia said.
It added that 113,759 candidates achieved grade A, A+ or A- in Mathematics, and 91,351 candidates achieved the same in English, which represented 30.8% and 24.8% of the total candidates, respectively.
For other core subjects, Untuk Malaysia reported that 27,621 candidates failed Science (compared with 56,624 who obtained grade A or A+ or A-); 23,358 candidates failed History (94,402 with grade A or A+ or A-); 9,642 candidates failed Bahasa Malaysia, (118,297 with grade A or A+ or A-); and 24,304 candidates failed Islamic Education (69,005 with grade A or A+ or A-).
Overall, Untuk Malaysia reported that 42.9% of the candidates, or 160,435 students, failed at least one subject.
A study by the NGO on school dropouts published in January reported that 140,474 candidates failed to obtain their SPM certificates after failing in Bahasa Melayu or History from 2019 to 2021.
The three-year data was taken from SPM results analysis prepared by the LPM, which is the main oversight body for national examinations.
Untuk Malaysia also reported that for the 2022 SPM exam, 33,906 candidates did not get their certificate as they failed the Bahasa Malaysia or History paper.
A total of 45,514 candidates did not receive their SPM certificate in 2021.
Malaysia Ranked 52nd in Global Education Ratings
Malaysia Ranked 52nd in Global Education Ratings My 2 Cents View
World Class Education? Malaysia Ranked 52nd Again In Global Education Ratings
Published on Wednesday, 13 May 2015 11:19
Written by Ashraf Wahab
KUALA LUMPUR – The biggest global ranking on education quality has just been published, but while the top five spots in the world is dominated by Asian countries – spearheaded by Singapore – our beloved Malaysia is languishing in a dismal position at 52 out of 72 countries.
The rankings, conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) think tank, lists down 76 countries and has Singapore in first place, followed by Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.
Countries such as the UK and US didn’t fare too well, as they are positioned at number 20 and 28 respectively.
The analysis is based on test scores of 15 year-olds in maths and science and argues that the standard of education is a “powerful predictor of the wealth that countries will produce in the long run”.
This is not the first time OECD has come up with education rankings like this.
They have previously done rankings based on PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests, but the focus then were on more affluent industrialised countries.
This latest league table includes a wider range of countries, with OECD’s education director Andreas Schleicher calling it “the first time we have a truly global scale of the quality of education”.
The countries which made it into the top 20 rankings based on maths and science performance of 15-year-olds are as follows:
1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. South Korea
4. Japan
5. Taiwan
6. Finland
7. Estonia
8. Switzerland
9. Netherlands
10. Canada
11. Poland
12. Vietnam
13. Germany
14. Australia
15. Ireland
16. Belgium
17. New Zealand
18. Slovenia
19. Austria
20. United Kingdom
Malaysia: World Class Education?
During the 2012 PISA rankings released two years ago, Malaysia was ranked 52nd out of 65 countries and performed the second worst in Southeast Asia behind the likes of Vietnam and Thailand.
Last year after the rankings were released, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar heavily criticised the Education Ministry and called for a reform on the country’s education system.
“I think our ministers also suffer from the same poor reading skills because I can see no developed country below Malaysia in the 2012 PISA ranking,” she said.
“Cosmetic transformations alone will not prepare our children to compete internationally. We must be brave and stop mixing politics into the education system,” she added.
Pandan MP RAfizi Ramli also agreed with Izzah, asking: “How does Vietnam, with limited resources, lesser infrastructure and an economy that is smaller than Malaysia’s, can have an education system that surpasses ours?”
In the new OECD ranking, Vietnam is placed at the 12th position, just like other Asian countries who are rated highly on the list , with the exception of Malaysia.
“If you go to an Asian classroom you’ll find teachers who expect every student to succeed. There’s a lot of rigour, a lot of focus and coherence,” says Schleicher.
“These countries are also very good at attracting the most talented teachers in the most challenging classrooms, so that every student has access to excellent teachers,” he added.
What’s in store next for Malaysia?
Questions remain on how seriously we should take these rankings.
Well, Schleicher gives us something to think about by saying: “Today’s 15 year-olds with poor problem-solving skills will become tomorrow’s adults struggling to find or keep a good job.”
He goes on to add: “Poor education policies and practices leave many countries in what amounts to a permanent state of economic recession.”
Recently the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar called for the country to follow Singapore’s education system by using English as a medium of instruction.
“Singapore’s system has proven to be successful… (it has) helped to unite the races (there),” he said.
With Singapore coming out on top of the recent OECD rankings, this might actually prove his point!
Source - malaysiandigest.com
Is our education system still 'world class'?
Ong Kian Ming
Published: May 14, 2015 10:36 AM
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Updated: 1:38 PM
MP SPEAKS In a recently released Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rankings in Science and Math, which is the most comprehensive study to date, the top 5 places were all taken by Asian countries, namely Singapore (1st), Hong Kong (2nd), South Korea (3rd), Japan and Taiwan (joint 4th).
Meanwhile, Malaysia finds itself being ranked 52 out of 76 countries.
In Southeast Asia, Malaysia is ranked below not just Singapore but also Vietnam (12th) and Thailand (47th).
Malaysia is also ranked below Ukraine (38th), Turkey (41st), UAE (45th) and Kazakhstan (49th).
ADS
The full details of this study will only be released at next week’s World Education Forum 2015 meeting in Seoul, Korea where the UN, led by UNESCO, will deliberate and decide on the post-2015 education agenda to replace the targets and objectives set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
But the initial findings should send a strong message to our education ministers that we are far from being anywhere close to a "world class" education system at the primary, secondary or tertiary levels.
The fact that our ministers still insist that we have a "world class" education system, in the face of overwhelming evidence stating otherwise, shows that we are still not acknowledging the full extent of the educational challenges we are facing.
Lesson from Sweden
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The lesson of Sweden should be a lesson to our ministers.
Sweden used to have one of the better education systems among OECD countries but experienced a sharp decline in its PISA and TIMSS scores from 2000 onwards.
This decline prompted the Swedish government to ask OECD to review its education system in 2014.
In this latest OECD rankings, Sweden came in at the 35th position, one of the lowest ranked OECD countries.
In the case of Malaysia, if our policymakers do not acknowledge the weaknesses in our current education system, we may even fall further behind our Asian neighbours and continue to lose out in terms of our economic competitiveness.
ONG KIAN MING is MP for Serdang.
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