11 July 2009
The politics of education
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Alternative education .
Malaysia flip-flops. Nationalists celebrate. Politicians reviled. Parents incensed. Children lose out (again).
So the Malaysian government scraps the teaching of Math and Science in English. After six years. Well, it was a half-hearted, fire-fighting effort to begin with.
A Straits Times columnist lamented what was typified as a well-intentioned policy doomed by haphazard implementation. “It is a lesson learnt that a half-hearted policy can do more damage than no policy at all,” the article concluded. I do feel for parents all over the country whose children are once again victimised by the the flip-flop. I’m afraid few lessons (if any) are learnt in the corridors of power.
Former NUTP secretary general N Sivasubramaniam said, “There should be a consistency in outlining the education policies of the country that should match the modern requirements of our society.”
“The wave-like changes in the education policies will only weaken the education system in the long run, like a rudderless ship lost in a sea of international job opportunities,” he added.
I have often felt that teaching Math and Science in English wasn’t the way to go if the government was really serious about improving English. Parents – especially urban ones – however rejoiced when it was first announced by outgoing PM Dr Mahathir (who it must be said was the man primarily responsible for banishing English from schools in the first place all those years ago).
To my mind, many parents were probably of the view that half a loaf was better than none, hence the jubilation - at least schools are teaching math and science in English, and aren’t these important subjects anyway?
Yet the better solution would be to bring English back as a compulsory subject in school and teach it the way we used to be taught. And bring back English Literature too, as Sim Kwang Yang suggested in Malaysiakini.
On the other hand, I think parents are asking too much of our government. Forgive my libertarian inclinations, but I do think that there should be separation of education and state. As you can see, my own views go beyond the contentious language debate and the attendant political wrangling.
But this is really where the problems arise: we want government to ‘educate’ our children. Then we react with horror when our kids turn out listless, unmotivated, lacking in language skills (not to mention the faculty for critical thinking), unable to articulate convictions, having no notion of independent thought or a spirit of self-reliance, and – most unfortunate of all – get their prejudices reinforced.
All these calls for government to stop ‘politicising’ education and do right by our children. You see, it’s all politics, and all social engineering all the time; governments do what governments do. It’s time to stop blaming government for responsibilities that rest on the shoulders of parents. If you care for your children, you might want to think about educating your own children yourself. Seriously.
4 Comments so far...
Kathleen Says:
23 July 2009 at 12:58 pm.
I can’t agree more.
- “to bring English back as a compulsory subject in school and teach it the way we used to be taught”
- “educating your own children yourself”
Just that in reality, not all parents have the luxury to do that, $$ wise or time wise or ability wise.
DAVID BC TAN Says:
23 July 2009 at 1:31 pm.
Thanks for visiting Kathleen – your comment made me think 
I do agree ‘reality’ does have a way of interfering with one’s ideals. I also agree that many people will still need schools to help educate their children. What’s important is not to ’sub-contract’ the whole responsibility of education to a teacher or a school. Parents still need to take active control and do their part to direct their children’s development and not surrender to their school’s (or the government’s) agenda. Such abdication of responsibility will be doubly tragic!
On the other hand, do we all need to rethink ‘reality’ on the basis of values and priorities? For example, houses in Malaysia are so ridiculously expensive for an average wage-earner. I am amazed at the sacrifices a young man or woman will make to buy one. And on top of that, buying a car too. Not to mention coming out with ridiculous sums of money to equip themselves with skills and qualifications (like MBAs – worth the price of a house?) to succeed in their careers. Yet how we struggle in our hearts with making sacrifices for the sake of a young life, our own children, a son or a daughter. Hmm. Surely a child has far greater worth and value than all the material things the world affords. Difficult issues to think about for sure.
JuneHo Says:
1 September 2009 at 7:50 am.
Hi David,
I have long consider homeschooling for my children age 8 and 13. Now that reality has set in, my husband and I are more determined to go ahead with the homeschooling program.
Could you kindly email the list of homeschools that is available in KL and PJ.
Thank you and God bless,
JuneHo
DAVID BC TAN Says:
1 September 2009 at 10:28 am.
Hi June,
I’m glad you have been provoked to think about options to conventional education. However, you must understand that homeschooling is education that takes place at home, usually facilitated by mom and dad themselves. I am sorry but I don’t have a list of learning centers.
Regards.