Long
story short, I believe every right-thinking parent would agree with
Syed Saddiq’s call…and cringe at Fadhlina for doing what most of our
politicians are really good at - burying their heads under the sand.
Going back to our education system, I think most of us know that the rot started after the May 13 riots.
It
began when the then Abdul Razak Hussein administration started playing
the nationalist card, with the English medium school cherished by most
Malaysians back then being converted to Malay-medium schools.
Another
issue, which I believe is the real reason behind the problem, is that
since Merdeka, many politicians who assume the education portfolio have
this idea that they will eventually become prime ministers.
As
such, our education system became the “playpen” of education ministers
who started having dreams of becoming the next prime minister. In the
process, they turned our children’s future into a national nightmare.
Back
in 2021, a PSM leader shared another interesting insight on why our
education system has created a massive amount of graduates lacking real
working-world skills…the privatisation of our education system.
Upon
enacting the Private Higher Education Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555),
the government allowed the unbridled creation of private colleges and
universities, popularly known as “mushroom colleges”.
While these
institutions charged exorbitant fees, the quality of the education was
abysmal. In some cases, it was so bad that students had to take these
establishments to court after finding out the courses offered did not
have accreditation despite being advertised as such.
To summarise, whichever one looks at it, Syed Saddiq was spot on in saying our education system needs reforms.
Hypocrisy destroying our future
It’s
also sickening when some right-wing nitwits start accusing non-Malay
parents of preferring to send their kids to vernacular schools as they
are “unpatriotic”.
When it comes to education, trust me when I say
that all parents irrespective of background would veer towards what
offers their children the best.
But unsurprisingly, the right-wing
halfwits hardly criticise parents who send their kids to private or
international schools. Why is that so? Perhaps, they fear it may ruffle
the feathers of powerful individuals who are keeping them well-fed.
After all, we all know how many of these “national school champions” send their own kids to private and international schools.
Back to the issue at hand, I think the best way to mend the situation is to table a White Paper on education reforms.
And
since Putrajaya seems to be clueless, perhaps I can share some points
of reference that could be used as guides for the White Paper.
Graduates not at fault
First, start with investigating what’s the problem with our education system and what caused it.
Secondly,
investigate why non-Malay parents rather send their kids to vernacular
schools or pay exorbitant fees to send them to private or international
schools instead of our national schools.
Once
the above is done, then I think the rest is obvious. One is, of course,
finding out what needs to be done to elevate our national education
syllabus to a higher standard.
And last but not least, figure out a
way to ensure our national schools become a top choice for all
Malaysians to send their kids to…like how it was with our local English
medium schools before they were shuttered.
The government must
realise that the quality of our education system would reflect the
employment numbers of the country. By now, I’m sure the authorities know
that many graduates are struggling to get jobs not only because of the
sluggish economy but also due to the education quality.
What makes
this situation upsetting is that the graduates are not at fault. They
definitely did not decide on our education policies. The politicians
did.
As for Fadhlina, the sooner you realise what is at stake
here, the better. You, dear minister, are holding the future of our
children in your hands.