Report from MalaysiaKini suggests that UMNO or BN may play a part in trying to control freedom to education. The government should not interfere in the administration of any university. “How can the universities achieve academic excellence when the government wants to see that the minds of academic staff are shackled and be subject to such vetting,” the former Universiti Malaya lecturer said.
via MalaysiaKini: Syed Husin: SB meddling in varsity staff vetting
Senator Dr Syed Husin Ali has condemned the alleged interference by the police special branch in the screening and vetting process over the appointment of lecturers and emeritus professors.
“This is certainly interference by the authorities not related to the administration of the university,” he said at a press conference in Parliament today.
Syed Husin (left in picture), who also said this in his motion of thanks to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday, added that the interference by the special branch is much worse and more dangerous than political interference.
“At one point of time students entering into universities were subject to 'suitability certificate' screening based on the special branch report. However, as students objected to such a practise it was discontinued.
“However, now it is known that lecturers are also vetted before they are accepted. Their names would be referred for security clearance (normally by the special branch). After the applicant has been investigated and cleared by the special branch, an offer is made. Normally the applicant's ties and political affiliation would be a reason to reject such an application,” the former academician said.
It is also a fact, alleged Syed Husin, that the special branch would also interfere in the appointment of emeritus professors.
He said such a honorific title is given to those who had served the university, or before the person retires, or based on his contributions and achievements in the academic world.
“It is known that a former professor was not given the title of emeritus professor by a renowned university as clearance was withheld by the special branch. Academic bodies in the university had agreed and recommended that the title be given to the former professor.
“However, when the proposal reached the university board and the special branch interfered, it was then rejected,” he said.
'Ministry should stop interfering'
Syed Husin called on the Higher Education Ministry to also stop interfering in the appointment of lecturers and other senior posts.
“Local universities should be independent and they should not be subject to intimidation by the police. The interference shows the level of independence practised by our universities, as Umno and BN seek to control them,” he said.
“How can the universities achieve academic excellence when the government wants to see that the minds of academic staff are shackled and be subject to such vetting,” the former Universiti Malaya lecturer said.
Syed Husin also said there is a similar practice with regard to the appointment of vice-chancellors, deans, head of departments or registrars.
“The appointment of a vice-chancellor is not done by an independent and neutral search committee to evaluate the candidates' capabilities but it is based on political acceptance. Similarly, the appointment of a dean it is not done by the academic staff of the department.
“This has resulted in the appointment by the minister of a person who is not a well-respected senior academician. In fact, the appointment of deans or heads of department who are not academically qualified as professors is questionable,” he said.
Syed Husin pointed out that as a result, the value of a person's knowledge or academic depth is not given priority and we see the academic reputation, standing and achievement of students at local universities to also be on the decline.
“What we find now is that the ruling political party has the power to influence the appointment of the university's administration. Some lecturers felt it is no use to work hard as they would not receive promotion, and the university's standards would certainly depreciate further.”
Thirty outstanding 2009 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) students who scored "A+" in all subjects were on Wednesday announced as the recipients of the inaugural 2010 National Scholarship. The recipients are of mixed races. It shows that the 2010 National Scholarship rewards students regardless of their surname, race, religion and skin color. Syabas. For students aiming for award in 2011, may the smartest one win.
They will pursue studies in the disciplines of their choice at leading universities of the world recognised by the government, said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.
The selected students are:
Gladys Tan Yee Kim (SMK Green Road, Kuching), who is the best student of SPM 2009, Grace Kiew Sze-Ern (SMK Perempuan Sri Aman, Petaling Jaya), Khadijah Ahmad Jais (SM Agama Persekutuan, Labu), Akmal Hidayat Sabri (SMK Derma, Kangar), Syamilah Mahali (Tunku Kurshiah College, Seremban), Amelia Lee Wei Ling (SMK Taman Melawati, Gombak, Selangor), Nur Syuhadah Muhamad (SM Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, Kota Baharu), Lai Yin Kwin (SMK Tinggi, Melaka), Corinne Gunn Huey Min (SMK Taman Melawati, Gombak, Selangor), Hu May Khei (SMK Convent, Taiping).
Muhammad Amal Aiman Mohd Yusof (MRSM Kota Baharu), Kuah Jia Ying (SMK Bukit Jambul, Penang), Chean Chung Shen (SMK Methodist (ACS) Sitiawan, Perak), Ahmad Zhafir Zulkfli alias Zulkifli (Integrated Fully Residential School Temerloh, Pahang), Goh Diangde (SMK Derma, Kangar), Ameenah Azman (Tunku Kurshiah College, Seremban), Erin Chuah Wei Yen (SMK Seri Bintang Utara, Kuala Lumpur), Mohamad Syukri Azmi (Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) Kota Baharu), Muhammad Syafiq Kamarulzaman (Integrated Fully Residential School Selandar, Melaka), Neelam Devi Nath (SMK Buloh Kasap, Segamat, Johor).
Ooi Hui Lynn (SMK Convent Green Lane, Penang), Nurliyana Sanusi (MRSM Kota Baharu), Gan Li Fang (SMK Tun Mamat, Tangkak, Johor), Muhammad Sallehuddin Mansor (SMK Matang, Perak), Muhammad Izzat Solihuddin (MRSM Tun Ghafar Baba, Jasin, Melaka), Nurizzati Zainal Nazeri (Saad Foundation College, Melaka), Khairunnisa Che Bahrun (Maahad Ahmadi Arabic School, Tanah Merah, Kelantan), Nurulaida Mohd Darus (Integrated Fully Residential School Jempol, Negeri Sembilan), Loh Sook Yin (SMK Tinggi St David, Melaka) and Malathy a/p Balakrishnan (SMK Ibrahim, Sungai Petani, Kedah).
Teachers in Sabah and Sarawak felt “very insulted and demoralised” as none of the schools from the two states made it to the list of the country’s top 20 schools. Read The best schools in Malaysia
Teachers’ Union Association for Sabah and Sarawak joint committee chairman William Ghani Bina said he had received calls from many teachers and parents who conveyed their strong feelings on the matter.
“They said the announcement of the 20 highest-performing schools came as a great insult to teachers in both Sabah and Sarawak. The results were demoralising to them.
“They felt strongly that 43 years after Sabah and Sarawak became part of Malaysia, the national education policy has failed. Something is wrong,” he added when asked yesterday.
The Education Ministry had announced an annual budget of nearly RM1mil for each of the schools besides allowing students to finish a year earlier as reward for high performance.
Ghani, who is also Sarawak Teachers’ Union president, said parents and teachers questioned the impartiality in picking the 20 schools. There are 1,624 primary schools and 107 secondary schools in Sarawak.
He said the association, which shared the sentiments expressed by the teachers and parents, found it unfair to grade all schools in the country with only one measure.
Ghani said unlike Singapore where most schools were in almost the same situation, schools in Malaysia were classified as urban or rural.
For the rural schools, he said there were three different classifications based on hardship allowances for the teachers, ranging from RM500 to RM1,500.
“The differing hardship allowances means that the Government accepts the disparities between schools. It is therefore unfair to rate schools with a single grade.”
Ghani said the Education Ministry should be serious in addressing the longstanding teacher shortage problem in Sarawak.
“We are not asking for 100% trained teachers. There is even a shortage of untrained (temporary) teachers,” he added.
Ghani said he had asked the ministry to train temporary teachers who had taught for many years, but the ministry had not accepted their applications to be trained as permanent teachers.
He urged the ministry to accept applications from Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unitar) graduates with education degrees to increase the number of professional teachers.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday announced that 20 schools -- 14 secondary and six primary -- had been accorded the status of high performance schools (SBTs). Of the 20 high performing schools, none of it is from Sarawak or Sabah.
Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said of the 14 secondary schools, 10 were fully residential schools and the rest were day schools.
“These schools were chosen from among schools that showed outstanding performance in the field of academia, co-curricular activities and niche areas.
“The schools will be guided and monitored closely to ensure they continue to attain even higher levels of performance,” he told reporters at his office here Monday.
The 10 fully residential schools are Sekolah Tun Fatimah (Johor Bahru), Sekolah Dato’ Abdul Razak (Seremban), Malay College Kuala Kangsar, Sekolah Seri Puteri (Cyberjaya), SM Sultan Abdul Halim (Jitra), Kolej Tunku Kurshiah (Seremban), Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah (Klang), Sekolah Menengah Sains (SMS) Tuanku Syed Putra (Perlis), Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah (Putrajaya) and SMS Muzaffar Syah (Malacca).
The four day schools are SMK (P) Sri Aman (Petaling Jaya), SMK Aminuddin Baki (Kuala Lumpur), SMK Sultanah Asma (Alor Setar) and SMK (P) St George (Penang).
The six primary schools are SK Seri Bintang Utara (KL), SK Taman Tun Dr Ismail 1 (KL), SK Bukit Damansara (KL), SK Zainab (2) (Kota Baru), SK Convent Kota (Taiping), SK Bandar Baru Uda 2 (Johor Bahru).
Muhyiddin stressed that SBTs were not elite schools which benefited only a limited number of students.
Instead, he said each school in the country had the same opportunity and a level playing field to be recognised as an SBT.
“Any school that meets the targets of excellence and criteria set (by the Education Ministry) will be recognised as an SBT and get the same privileges,” he said.
Muhyiddin said the ministry targeted 30 SBTs by next year and 50 in 2012.
He said the rationale in having SBTs was to raise the quality of the best schools in the country to be world class, produce outstanding students and narrow the gap between schools within the system.
He said SBTs would be given additional autonomy to pursue innovation in school management and raise the productivity of students.
As for the curriculum, he said, it would be flexible in terms of teaching and learning as well as syllabi for compulsory and elective subjects, conforming to public examinations and the use of the national language as the medium of instruction, or multiple languages.
Muhyiddin said the schools concerned were also given leeway in fixing the minimum periods for subjects, extending schooling hours and allowing students to complete their studies a year earlier, just like the express promotion system that was introduced previously.
In terms of budget, he said a lump sum grant would be channelled to the schools at the beginning of each year and that they would have the full flexibility to spend it as needed and were exempt from the ministry’s centralised procurement system.
“Every school has its own budget, but with this status, they will be given additional funds and they can use the money as needed,” he said, adding that the grant might be less than RM1mil but had not been fixed yet as this depended on the size of the SBT.
He also said management of staff at these schools would be based on meritocracy and not seniority, besides flexibility given for the paying of overtime and performance incentives.
“There will also be flexibility to re-assign under performing staff and delegation of functions based on academic and non-academic reasons,” he said.
Muhyiddin said the SBTs would be appraised yearly based on their annual reports with the appropriate performance indicators and inspections by the ministry’s officers in accordance with the revised Malaysian Education Quality Standard.
In relation to this, he said the SBTs would have to fullfil six criterias -- attain academic excellence, produce outstanding students, win awards at the national and international level, be invovled in community work and network with other schools and higher learning institutions, both locally and internationally.
One of the roles the SBTs would have to play was having their teachers act as mentors to teachers in other schools through the “immersion” programme involving principals, headmasters and teachers, he said.
Towards maintaing their status as SBTs, he said their strategic plans, management structure, academic and co-curriculum programmes should serve as benchmarks for other schools, locally and abroad.
Muhyiddin said that schools in rural areas could also be selected as SBTs if they fullfilled the criteria.
“I know not all the 10,000 schools (in the country) can reach this status, but irrespective of whether they are urban or rural schools, they stand an equal chance of being accorded SBT status.
“But if the (rural) schools are constrained because they do not have the same facilities as their urban counterparts, we will speed up action to narrow the gap,” he said. -- Bernama
Another idiotic comment from our Minister. Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, the Deputy Education Minister deserved to receive the flakes from all quarters for his idiotic comment on the English language. I'm sure his children are probably studying in foreign universities using English as the learning medium. An ability to master another language doesn't mean a person is unpatriotic.
Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi’s comment that the private sector should use Bahasa Malaysia and not English has been criticised by many quarters.
Chairman of the centre for public policy studies at the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said Malaysians need to move fast to become what the Prime Minister had called a high-income nation.
“When you deal with foreign investors, most if not all will certainly not understand our local language.
“We have to be pragmatic and progressive in this era of globalisation.
“Malaysia cannot be regressive and stay in isolation as a middle-income nation,” he said yesterday.
On Tuesday, Dr Mohd Puad reportedly said Malaysians in the private sector should use Bahasa Malaysia and not English.
The private sector, Dr Puad said, had tarnished the image of the national language by not using Bahasa Malaysia.
Parent Action Group for Education chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said Dr Puad’s suggestion was a retrogressive one and would defeat the Prime Minister’s call for the people to move forward to turn Malaysia into a high income nation.
“In fact, as the international lingua franca, the use of English had even exceeded the use of Chinese and Indian languages as the international language of communication.
“Certainly, our private sector needs to attract foreign investors here and they must communicate in English,” she added.
Malaysian English Language Teaching Association president Dr Ganakumaran Subramaniam said English was a necessity for the private sector to do business with global industry players.
“To ask the private sector to communicate in Bahasa Malaysia does not make business sense,” he added.
Ter Leong Yap of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia said as English was the common communication tool among businessmen, problems in the usage of the language would become a barrier to business growth.
Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said Malaysia was losing its edge to China, Vietnam and even Laos and if English was going to be the language of international communication, then the country could not afford to lose out.
He said there was no intention by the private sector to be unpatriotic, but it needed to move fast to ensure business success in a time and financially-sensitive environment.
“The Deputy Minister’s comment is off-target, and to generalise the notion that someone is unpatriotic for not using the national language, especially when they are involved in trade, is far off.
“One size doesn’t fit all,” he said.
Representatives from both Barisan Nasional and the opposition are haggling over PSD scholarships awards. BN recently changed the scholarships quota distribution of 20% solely on merit, 10% for the underprivileged, 10% for those from Sabah and Sarawak and the remaining based on ethnic quota, co-curriculum, results and socio-economic background.
Lim Kit Siang, DAP Advisor said that Nazri Aziz had reiterated in Parliament that 55% of the scholarships would be given to bumiputras while the rest was reserved for non-Malays. In general, the public want to know how many percent of the scholarships are given to bumiputras and non-bumiputras.
Why haggling over the quota? Why not just award the scholarships to the best students, regardless of race.
From TheStar
Cabinet to hear cases of 800 top scorers who didn’t get scholarships
PUTRAJAYA: More than 800 straight-A students will have their appeals for Public Services Department (PSD) scholarships taken up to the Cabinet for discussion.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the group, comprising 280 who scored straight 1As, had submitted their appeals to the MCA.
“I have just briefed the party president (Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat) on the matter and the four MCA ministers will bring it to the Cabinet,” he said here yesterday.
Dr Wee said the situation this year had shocked even him – although the MCA Youth chief and party national education bureau chairman had been handling education and scholarship issues since 2001.
He cited the case of a student with 6A1 and 4A2 who obtained a scholarship to study engineering. On the other hand, there were complaints from students with 13A1s and 14A1s that they were given places to do matriculation instead of being awarded with scholarships.
He stressed that such alternatives should be made known earlier, not just dished out to the students.
Dr Wee added there must also be a transparent system of awarding scholarships.
Asked whether publishing the names of the scholarship recipients could help address the question of fairness and transparency in selection, Dr Wee said he hoped this would be done by the PSD not too long from now.
The Cabinet had in January refined the distribution of scholarship: 20% solely on merit, 10% for the underprivileged, 10% for those from Sabah and Sarawak and the remaining based on ethnic quota, co-curriculum, results and socio-economic background.
Meanwhile students, parents and teachers who contacted The Star said they were shocked by the “consolation prize” (getting a place to do matriculation instead of a scholarship to study overseas) given to many of those with 13A1s and 14A1s.
They also raised a host of other problems, including that the scholarship recipients were not told which country they would be sent to study.
Meanwhile, the DAP wants the Government to show the selection criteria for the PSD scholarships and explain why there was a shift in implementation.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had reiterated in Parliament that 55% of the scholarships would be given to bumiputras while the rest was reserved for non-Malays.
“All of a sudden, they just changed the selection criteria. We want to know how many percent of the scholarships are given to bumiputras and non-bumiputras,” the Ipoh Timur MP told a press conference here yesterday.
Lim, three other DAP MPs and three state assemblymen had met with PSD director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Adam to discuss the matter.
Related posts:
* PSD race-based scholarship to be review
The current selection of Public Service Department (PSD) is based on four criteria - merit (20%), race preferences (60%), Sabah and Sarawak citizens (10%) and students from underprivileged groups (10%). In addition to that, students with poor academic results but excellent in their co-curriculum activities will also have good chance to secure the scholarship.
Thus, only in Malaysia, if you are a smart Chinese student, your chance to get that scholarship is only 20% (based on merit). A whopping 60% quota is allocated for the Malays regardless if their result is excellent or not. Another obvious loop hole is that PSD will make sure 60% quota are given to the Malays even if all 60% are below average. I don't mind if all the 60% quota is given to smart Malays students but that is not the case. Fulfilling the quota just for the sake of quota is thus depriving other smarter MALAYSIAN.
Picture: Most scholarship wasted on Mawas standard students.
Related posts:
* PSD must cut the red tape
* Public Service Department is practicing racial preference
* Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers’ Union is racist
* PSD must speeds up assistance to all top achievers
* Why the government is selective in offering scholarships ?
Weaker Malays doesn't mean it will make the Chinese stronger. Weaker Malays will make Malaysia weaker
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From the Star
PSD scholarship review
By NG CHENG YEE
PUTRAJAYA: The Government will review the selection criteria for Public Services Department scholarships, said MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.
He said a meeting would be held among Barisan Nasional component party leaders, the PSD director-general and the Chief Secretary to the Government today.
They will discuss the matter and reconsider rejected cases.
“All four MCA ministers had met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to discuss the cases highlighted to us regarding the selection of PSD scholarship recipients.
“The same issue was also brought up at the Cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister has agreed to review the criteria,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
The MCA, he said, received many complaints where students considered the best in certain states were not selected for the scholarships.
“Instead, the moment they were informed about their unsuccessful bid to obtain scholarships to study overseas, the students were asked whether they would accept offers to study at local public universities or foreign universities based in Malaysia.
“This is a very serious situation where students do not get enough time to consider their decision,” he said, adding that such circumstances must be stopped.
Currently, Ong said, the selection is based on four criteria - merit (20%), race (60%), Sabah and Sarawak citizens (10%) and students from underprivileged groups (10%).
He said if meritocracy was part of the criteria, the students’ co-curriculum activities and interviews should not be included for consideration.
“Meritocracy means it should solely be the students’ results and not any other areas,” he said.
On another matter, Ong said he had briefed the Cabinet on the Port Klang Free Zone issue but nothing was discussed in detail.
Meanwhile, the Port Klang Authority would be holding an emergency board meeting at 10am today to approve the terms and conditions for the release of the audited report prepared by accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, port au-thority chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng said.
The use of English in the teaching of Mathematics and Science since 2003, which had drawn much controversy, had been disputed lately with questions being asked whether it should be continued or otherwise.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi meanwhile, wants an immediate decision to be made on the use of English in the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science to prevent a bigger issue from cropping up. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi believed the decision made will be in the best interest of the people and our future.
What is there to decide. Just tell the rakyat that policy is to be maintain. After all, million of ringgit have been spend on this program. Obviously, some Malay do not want to progress. In their mind, Bahasa Malaysia is the national language (still is and nobody denied that), that Agung is the ruler of Malaysia (still is and nobody denied that), that Islam is the religion of the Malay (still is and nobody denied that), that English to be abolish from the Education System. Now, that is discrimination not only to non-Malay but also for future generation of young Malay.
Related posts:
* Uncommitted teachers can go mad
* Teachers letdown in teaching Maths and Science in English
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward - Part 3
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward - Part 2
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward
* Mastering second language does not make Malay less Malay
From The Star
PM: Make quick decision on use of English in Maths, Science
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants an immediate decision to be made on the use of English in the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science to prevent a bigger issue from cropping up.
The Prime Minister said the government acknowledged that there was strong pressure from the people, especially the Malays, who were giving much attention to the matter.
"I hope the decision will be made immediately. Otherwise non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will continue to put pressure and create a bigger issue," he told reporters after launching the novel, "Dragon Fire Hammer", here on Saturday.
Abdullah said the Education Ministry had held several meetings with the NGOs to discuss the matter.
However, the Education Ministry was not prepared to announce the nature of the decision taken for the time being.
"With the examination results providing the rationale for the ministry to decide, I believe the decision made will be in the best interest of the people and our future," he said.
The use of English in the teaching of Mathematics and Science since 2003, which had drawn much controversy, had been disputed lately with questions being asked whether it should be continued or otherwise.
The issue became more intense with academicians and literary figures supporting politicians in voicing their protest against the continuation of the policy. - Bernama
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From The Star
Riot police fired tear gas into several hundreds of people marching to Istana Negara to protest the use of English in the teaching of Mathematics and Science at 2.40pm Saturday.
But by 3.20pm, the police and Federal Reserve Unit were successful in dispersing the crowd.
However, some of the crowd are said to be regrouping at the mosque.
The march and the subsequent rain has caused massive traffic jams in the city.
The crowd had gathered at Masjid Negara earlier and started to march to the Palace and were close to the Tun Sambanthan building when riot police began shooting tear gas.
Many in the crowd ran away as the scene filled with smoke. The Federal Reserve unit trucks were initially stuck in traffic but caught up with the crowd and also started firing tear gas.
The crowd had planned to submit a memorandum to the King, appealing for the return of the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the teaching of the two subjects.
However, in the midst of the chaos, police escorted Gapena’s Datuk A Samad Said to the Palace gates and he handed the memorandum to someone in the guardhouse.
The police and FRU have thrown a safety perimeter at the Istana gates and are still on standby.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said the group, initially led by Gapena’s Datuk Hassan Ahamd, Datuk A Samad Said and Dr. Shaharil MD Zain, had agreed there would not be gatherings or demonstrations during their discussions with the KL CPO deputy Comm Datuk Wira Mohd Sabtu Osman.
“They agreed to send representatives into the Istana after the Zohor prayers but when political parties like PAS and PKR got involved, it became an illegal gathering and demonstration.
“We had no choice but to use tear gas to disperse the crowd who refused to listen to police warnings,” he said.
Musa said the police control centre in Bukit Aman and the City police were deluged with angry callers as there were massive jams all over the city.
He said he had asked for reinforcements to ensure city dwellers were protected and not inconvenienced by irresponsible political parties.
“I assure the public that stern action will be taken against those involved in organising the demonstrations.
“They are not fighting for democracy but are demo crazy,” he added.
He said city police have identified those involved and police would do the necessary to bring them to book.
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Najib: Do not reject blindly
By MAZWIN NIK ANIS
PUTRAJAYA: Do not be “overly obsessed” with protecting Bahasa Melayu that we overlook or reject some aspects of foreign civilisations which are good for Malaysia, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“Foreign elements” which helped to enrich knowledge, enhance technology and even the local culture should not be pushed aside, he said.
“One has to be rational in choosing and determining what is good and beneficial and not reject globalisation and changes outright.
“While language reflects a race, the ability to speak, read and write in other languages must not be seen as an erosion of one’s intelligence and identity.
“In Malaysia, knowing another language does not mean Bahasa Melayu will be weak and meaningless,” he said at the International Malay Oratory Competition Finals 2009 last night.
Najib stressed that despite the language being relatively young in terms of terminology in science and technology compared to English, it did not mean Bahasa Melayu has been set aside.
He gave the assurance that the Government will continue to be committed in enhancing the importance of the Malay language.
“We will continue to uphold Bahasa Melayu as the premier language of this country.
“Even though we allow room for the English language to exist in the country’s education system, Bahasa Melayu will continue to be the official language of this system,” he said.
Noting that information technology has allowed Bahasa Melayu to exist in cyberspace and gave others the opportunity to learn it, Najib said language experts should use the k-economy to gain knowledge.
“Malaysia’s role in the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement must be used to the fullest to introduce Bahasa Melayu to institutions of higher learning of member countries.
“This could be the country’s valuable export as along with the language, comes other knowledge and fields of expertise,” he said.
Teachers going mad teaching subjects in English, yelled TheStar. Well, uncommitted teachers can surely go mad. No problem with me. This stemmed from some Malay teachers who are "going mad" for not able to handle teaching the Mathematics and Science subjects in English.
If the kids can learn English, why it is so difficult for the adult teachers to learn English. In fact Chinese and Indian kids can conversed in their mother tongue, Bahasa Malaysia as well as English. Don't tell me, the Malay only want to conversed in Bahasa Malaysia. Do they want to stay under the coconut shell forever? Bila lagi nak landing kat bulan.
Back to the school. Initially when the government announced the policy of teaching English in Maths and Science subjects, most Malay teaches are not supportive or committed to the project. Hishammuddin Hussein has spend millions of Ringgit to buy multimedia PCs, notebooks, printers and other electronic devices, including capital cost to upgrade the human resources, so that teachers can upgrade their English proficiency. Enough time were given. Even allowances were allocated.
Most of them however were reluctant to attend courses, workshops and seminar to improve their command of English. A few years down the road, they were left behind by Chinese, Indian and East Malaysian natives teachers in term of English proficiency. Hence, it not blind leading the behind as far as Malay teachers are concerned, it was their ego and mentality that put them in the current spot. Don't blame the government, don't blame English language. Blame themselves.
Prof Abdullah Hassan (the Malaysian Translators Association president) meanwhile suggested that the English subjects should be dropped as he argued that it will pointless since there will be no enough job openings that demand good English due to the current economic situation. For a person who qualified to be called a Professor, he is very short and narrow minded. The government policy is to benefit our future generation. Prof Abdullah however, has run out of idea that he now use the weakened economy as an excuse to propose the cancellation of the English subjects. I think he got his Professorship from some cheap Internet site.
Related posts:
* Teachers letdown in teaching Maths and Science in English
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward - Part 3
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward - Part 2
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward
* Mastering second language does not make Malay less Malay
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From TheStar
Teachers going mad teaching subjects in English, claims rep
By RASLAN BAHAROM
TAIPING: Some Malay teachers in Bagan Serai are “going mad” as they cannot handle teaching Mathematics and Science subjects in English, claimed a state assemblyman .
Dr Khalil Idham Lim Abdullah (Titi Serong) said the teachers themselves had to take English classes to improve their command of English.
While they are still grappling with the language, they are required to teach their students as well, said Khalil, who was chairman of the Perak Backbenchers Club in the former Pakatan Rakyat-led state government.
“The teachers themselves have a poor command of English. How do we expect them to teach their students?” he asked in his speech after a briefing on the subject at the state PAS headquarters in Jalan Air Kuning on Tuesday.
Some teachers, he said, “have simply gone crazy” because of this, likening the matter to the blind leading the blind. He claimed the minimum passing mark for both subjects were lowered to ensure that only a rosy picture was painted of the move.
Earlier, the gathering was told by Malaysian Translators Association president Associate Prof Abdullah Hassan that a big gathering is scheduled to be held in front of Istana Negara at 2pm on March 7 to protest against the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English.
Prof Abdullah said the argument that the usage of English would provide better job opportunities could only hold water if there were plenty of job openings.
The current debacle whether Mathematics and Science subjects for Primary School should be continue to be taught in English or reverted to Bahasa Malaysia is stemmed from teachers who refused to improve their own English language skill.
Utusan Malaysia is quick to point out that the lack of preparation, including having teachers who are not proficient in English, has foiled the Government’s plan to train students who are good in Mathematics and Science.
Ask teachers who are comfortably teaching Maths and Science in English and they will tell you that the students can take it. The main problem is the teachers who are assigned the task is not proficient in English. Most of those teachers are Malay who refused to take the initiative to improve their English.
If the teacher is not capable of understanding English, how do we expect the Government plan to succeed. The government has spend billion of Ringgit on behalf of the Ministry of Education to purchase IT equipments, preparing English courses and materials but those egoistic Malay teachers refused to attend those courses. They still want to teach in Bahasa Malaysia instead of progressing to teach in a second language. All the government spending going the drain yet no result was achieved.
From TheStar
No decision yet on Math and Science in English policy
By LEANNE GOH and KAREN CHAPMAN
PUTRAJAYA: The wrangle over the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English continued with seven proposals put before the final roundtable meeting yesterday.
The proposals are:
> Stick to Mathematics and Science in English;
> Revert to Bahasa Malaysia;
> Let primary schools teach both subjects in the mother tongue and secondary schools use English;
> Let primary schools decide for themselves;
> Mathematics and Science be taught in Bahasa Malaysia and mother tongue for Years One to Three and in English from Year Four onwards;
> A combination of mother tongue in the first three years and a choice of mother tongue or English after that; and
> The two subjects will not be taught in Years One to Three and instead be integrated into other subjects.
These proposals were summarised from four roundtables organised by the Education Ministry since July to gather feedback from a spectrum of stakeholders.
However, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, who chaired the fifth and final discussion yesterday, cautioned that the purpose of the dialogues was to gather feedback from all parties.
No decision on the issue would be made at this juncture.
“We will put together a report for Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who will then study it and submit the ministry’s findings to the Cabinet for a decision,” he told a press conference.
What was disclosed for the first time and of great interest to the 180 participants present was the analysis of the recent Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR), based on the performance of the first cohort of Year Six pupils who have gone through six years of learning Maths and Science in English.
“Overall, the trend has been positive. Pupils have actually done marginally better in many instances. More pupils in both urban and rural schools scored A, B and Cs in the two subjects.
“Even their performance in the English language has shown a rather big improvement of 4.4%, while the performance in Bahasa remained stable,” said director-general of education Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom, who presented the analysis.
Another encouraging sign was that the number of pupils opting to answer the two subjects in English had increased significantly, reflecting greater confidence in using the language.
In Tamil vernacular schools (SJKT), 62.76% of pupils answered in English for Science and 89.11% for Maths.
It was a totally different scenario in Chinese national-type schools (SJKC), though. Only 2.86% answered in English for Science and 1.29% for Maths.
----------------------------------------
From TheStar
Split right down the middle over language
PUTRAJAYA: There are as many advocates as there are detractors to the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said participants were free to speak their mind.
“This is why we are here ... we are listening to the views of all stakeholders,” he said after chairing the ministry’s fifth roundtable discussion on the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.
Senator Lee Chee Keong from MCA said the party wanted Science and Mathematics to be taught in the mother tongue in primary schools.
“The statistics show that very few students in Chinese primary schools are answering in English. In fact only 2.86% answered in English for Science and 1.29% for Maths,” he said.
He said this showed students were either not able to understand or unable to answer in English. At the same time, Lee said there should be more English periods in schools in order to ensure students were not left behind.
“Students should be able to study the two subjects in English at secondary-school level,” he said.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk S.K. Devamany said the MIC did not have an official stand on the issue yet.
“We want to get stakeholders to put forward their views before we make a stand,” he said during a break at the ministry’s fifth roundtable discussion.
He said the MIC education bureau had met Tamil school headmasters and those from the teaching fraternity, adding that the feedback received was mixed.
Devamany, who is an MIC central working committee member, said the party planned to meet with parents next.
“Parents have the right to decide what they want for their children,” he said.
Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Noor Azimah Abd Rahim said it represented parents in both urban and rural areas who wanted the subjects to continue being taught in English.
“As parents, we feel that the students’ English will improve if the policy is able to continue. It will also give students a competitive edge,” she said.
Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia) chief administrative officer Kuang Hee Pang said the ministry must be clear on whether it was English or Science and Mathematics which was important.
“Students should be able to use the mother tongue to study the two subjects,” he said.
----------------------------------------
From TheStar
Poor preparation marred teaching of subjects in English
Other News & Views
Compiled by TAN SIN CHOW, NG CHENG YEE AND A. RAMAN
THE lack of preparation, including having teachers who are not proficient in English, has foiled the Government’s plan to train students who are good in Mathematics and Science, said Utusan Malaysia.
In its editorial, the daily said the problem had also resulted in students who were “lucky” enough to benefit from the teaching of the two subjects in English.
“The main objective of implementing this policy is to train students who are talented in the two subjects while improving their English.
“However, we do not want the policy to only include students from urban areas while those in the rural areas, especially Sabah and Sarawak, do not benefit from it,” it said.
The daily said the round-table discussion, which was held yesterday, must provide substantial evidence to show that the policy was able to improve the students’ competency in the two subjects.
It said that if relevant parties believed that it was still not the right time to implement the policy, they would have to clearly explain the reasons.
“The decision on whether to continue implementing the policy should not be taken lightly as it will affect the future of the education industry.
“A small mistake can affect the life of the rakyat, especially those who are marginalised and deprived of various facilities,” it said.
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The number of pupils who answered in English for the Science and Mathematics papers in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) 2008 exam has increased tremendously. And the overall UPSR results this year are better as compared to five years ago, with an increase in the number of students scoring all A's.
This proved that teaching English in Science and Mathematics subjects show better result. It also proved that the Malaysian students (including the Malay students) are receptive to English as a teaching medium for Science and Mathematics.
The thorny issue that cropped since the policy of introducing English for Science and Maths subjects in 2003, is that some quarters want to revert the teaching of Science and Maths to Bahasa Malaysia. Those quarters are worry that their mother tongue BM will be gone from the education system. Those quarters are mostly Malay teachers who are in self-denial, who are so engrossed with BM that they are not willing to change nor do they even want to try it.
When English was reintroduced as a teaching medium for the two subjects, a lot of Malay teachers (especially those from West Malaysia) want to boycott the programme. Most of them are reluctant to improve their English teaching skills. Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein must tackle this issue. All teachers who are weak in English must be given proper training but if they refuse it, by all means, sacks those uncooperative teachers.
The bottom point here is that, those Malay teachers (by denying English) and opting not to improve their own English is in fact going against the government policy. The government has given a mandate to improve our education system and also spend billion of Rinngit to reintroduce English in our education system so that our future Malaysian (including the Malays) can compete globally. Yet, those jerks are not supportive of our national objectives. Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Ismail Hussein is one of them.
Related posts:
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward - Part 2
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward- Part 1 (people who oppose Tan Sri Ismail)
* Mastering second language does not make Malay less Malay
From TheStar
Many more opt for English
By KAREN CHAPMAN and IAN MCINTYRE
PUTRAJAYA: The number of pupils who answered in English for the Science and Mathematics papers in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) exam has increased tremendously.
Compared to last year, the figures this time was up by more 200 times (Mathematics) and 100 times (Science).
Pupils had the option of answering the subjects entirely in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese or Tamil or a combination of all three.
Education director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom said 159,234 pupils (31%) answered the Science paper in English while for Mathematics, the figure was 238,153 (46%).
Last year, the number of pupils who answered the Science and Mathematics papers in English were 1,324 and 1,075 respectively.
“The 518,616 pupils who sat for the UPSR this year are the first group to have started studying the two subjects in English since the policy was introduced in 2003,” he told a press conference yesterday after providing an analysis of the UPSR 2008 results at the ministry.
Alimuddin said this year’s UPSR results would be discussed by stakeholders before a final decision was made on whether to continue teaching Science and Mathematics in English or revert to Bahasa Malaysia.
Ministry officers would also compile data on the issue, including newspaper articles and memoranda received by Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein who would then bring it to Cabinet.
Alimuddin said the ministry had introduced two new indicators to gauge pupils’ performance in the UPSR, which were the Candidates’ Overall Achievement reflecting the pupils’ achievement in school, and the Subject Performance score which is based on the percentage of pupils’ grades in subjects scored.
In Kota Baru, Hishammuddin said this year’s UPSR would not be the benchmark to decide whether the ministry would continue teaching Science and Maths in English.
He said the results were part of a bigger study being conducted before a consensus could be reached.
He also said that he wanted the decision to be one that was not politicised or criticised by race-dominated educationists as all stakeholders were invited to present their views.
-------------------------------------
From Bernama
2008 UPSR Results Better Than Five Years Ago - Ed D/G
PUTRAJAYA, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- The overall Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) results this year are better as compared to five years ago, with an increase in the number of students scoring all A's.
Education director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom said, of the 518,616 UPSR candidates, 46,641 or 9.2 per cent scored all A's, as compared to only 7.8 per cent five years ago.
He said there was also an obvious improvement in the number of candidates answering Science and Mathematics questions in English, whereby 159,234 students answered their Science paper in English as compared to 1,324, the previous year.
Alimuddin was speaking at a news conference to announce the results of the 2008 UPSR, Thursday.
He said 238,153 candidates answered their Mathematics paper fully in English. Last year, only 1,075 tackled the paper in English.
"All candidates are allowed to answer fully in English or Bahasa Melayu or their mother tongue, or a combination of the three," he said.
Alimuddin said improvement was also seen in five subjects, including in vernacular schools (SJK), which are Malay Comprehension, Malay Writing, English, Chinese Writing, Tamil Writing and Science.
"These subjects have shown a significant improvement, with 4.1 per cent scoring A's for Malay Writing in national schools (SK) and Malay Comprehension for vernacular schools.
"National schools recorded an improvement of 4.4 per cent for English, while Chinese Writing had an improvement of 3.9 per cent," he said, adding that the highest improvement was 4.8 per cent for Tamil Writing.
He said the level of increase or decrease in subject performance was measured by the Subject Grade Point Average, which is 0.03.
"The six subjects showing significant improvement are Malay Comprehension SK at 0.07, Malay Writing SK (0.06), Malay Writing SJK (0.11), Chinese Writing (0.07) and Tamil Writing at 0.04, while the highest improvement was recorded for English SK at 0.24," he said.
Meanwhile in KUALA LUMPUR, education department director Mohd Radzi Jabar said Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara emerged with the best UPSR results for the second year running, with 50.31 per cent scoring 5A's.
Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Kuen Cheng (2) ranked as the best Chinese vernacular school with 14.76 per cent and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Sungai Besi was the best Tamil vernacular school with 9.8 per cent, scoring 5A's.
Of the 25,671 students in Kuala Lumpur who sat for the UPSR, 98.14 per cent were candidates from schools under the Education Ministry while the rest were candidates from private schools.
In SEREMBAN, state education department assessment and examination sector head Hamzah Abu said the number of excellent students had decreased with only 2,225 candidates or 11.4 per cent of the total 19,531 candidates scoring 5A's or 7A's.
Last year, 2,269 candidates or 11.9 per cent of the 18,993 obtained excellent marks.
In SARAWAK, the number of top scorers increased to 2,044 candidates receiving 5A's this year as compared to 1,991 last year.
Among factors said to contribute to the success include using mind maps, surfing the Internet, eating raisins and drinking chicken essence each morning.
A top scorer, Kimberly Chian, 12, said she used mind maps to speed up the process of understanding a subject.
"My mother taught me how to make mind maps. I used this tip because it helps me to remember important facts," the SK Green Road student told Bernama here today.
The youngest of two siblings said she spent two hours a day, from Monday to Friday, to revise various subjects.
For Muhammad Iqmal Hijaz Ibrahim, he made a point to revise his short notes, as well as have essence of chicken and raisins in his diet to sharpen the mind.
"They provide nutrients needed to keep me alert and fit while learning," said the 12-year-old who was one of 43 students from SK Green Road to score 5A's.
In SABAH, 955 students scored all A's as compared to only 60 last year, said state education department deputy director Muhiddin Yussin.
In KEDAH, 3,482 students or 8.69 per cent of 40,062 UPSR candidates scored all A's this year.
State education director Shahidan Abdul Rahman said 24,775 candidates or 61.84 per cent passed in all subjects.
In PAHANG, five Orang Asli students were among 3,140 candidates who scored 5A's in their examinations, said state education department deputy director Abdul Hamid Abu Bakar.
He said 25 schools in the state achieved 100 per cent results this year, as compared to 15 schools last year.
In JOHOR, 5,987 students or 9.64 per cent of 62,401 UPSR candidates scored all A's, said state education director Sufaat Tumin.
He said Johor ranked as the third best state in the 2008 UPSR examination, achieving a 2.22 School Grade Point Average.
Sufaat said Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Foon Yew 1, Johor Baharu saw the highest number of high achievers with 115 students, followed by Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Uda 2, Johor Baharu with 87 students and Sekolah Kebangsaan Infant Jesus Convent, Johor Baharu with 85 students.
"Five blind students from Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas Princess Elizabeth, Johor Baharu, were listed as blind excellent students, five students from several special education schools in the state were listed as physically-impaired excellent students and five Orang Asli students were named as excellent students in the Orang Asli category," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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According to Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Ismail Hussein who chaired the Learning of Science and Mathematics in English Roundtable Conference here, said 30 per cent of primary and secondary school students had failed to adapt to the method of learning the two subjects in English.
Tan Sri Ismail also called on the Government to revert to using Bahasa Malaysia in teaching mathematics and science in school from English, just because 30% of the students failed. This clearly indicate that the teaching methods is not effective and the teachers themselves are not proficient in English. It's like a Kera teaching a Berok. Education Ministry should solve these issues and really need to make sure that the teachers are good in English and not changing the policy and going backward. Changing policy (a typical flip-flop decision) will take our education system to nowhere.
Tan Sri Ismail further challenged that the Government should be held responsible for this state of affairs and the Education Minister should be removed for failing to honour the responsibility entrusted upon him if the Government did not revert to using the national language. The Government can remove both Tan Sri Ismail and Hishammudin, any time.
Tan Sri Ismail added that "... we have a language which has successfully taken the Malaysian race into space". CRAPS! Dr SMS speak BM with other international astronauts during his space tour. Would you believe that?. One thing for sure is that Najib wasted millions for the Kenot program
Related posts:
* Malaysia Education System Going Backward- Part 1 (people who oppose Tan Sri Ismail)
From DAILY EXPRESS NEWS
Govt is told: Revert to using Bahasa
Kuala Lumpur: A three-hour conference participated by 45 academicians and representatives from non-governmental organisations on Saturday called on the Government to revert to using Bahasa Malaysia in teaching mathematics and science in school.
Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Ismail Hussein who chaired the Learning of Science and Mathematics in English Roundtable Conference here, said 30 per cent of primary and secondary school students had failed to adapt to the method of learning the two subjects in English.
The policy that began in 2003 had clearly failed to make English as an education language but had sacrificed 146,000 school students who were unable to master the two subjects, he told reporters after the conference.
He said the Government should be held responsible for this state of affairs and the Education Minister should be removed for failing to honour the responsibility entrusted upon him if the Government did not revert to using the national language.
"We do not want our children to be used as guinea pigs and when the experiment fails, they bear the brunt of it.
"We also do not want to be cursed by the next generation for failing to change the method of teaching the two core subjects in English while we have a language which has successfully taken the Malaysian race into space," he said.
Ismail said teaching a language should not be mixed with teaching other subjects and English should be taught as a second language in all schools and educational institutions.
"We also want the Education Ministry to allocate sufficient funds to ensure English teachers really master the language," he said.
He said conference's resolutions would be submitted to the Cabinet next week for further action.- Bernama
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During the recent Learning of Science and Mathematics Roundtable Conference, attended by 45 academicians and representatives from non-governmental organisations, who wanted the government to revert to teaching of the two subjects in BM. Hishammuddin is listening to those 45 goons.
William Ghani Bina, the president of STU said that we respect BM as the national language, but to revert to the teaching of Mathematic and Science in BM should not be done in haste. He also stressed that English proficiency was necessary to enable students to compete globally.
I totally agreed with William Ghani and it look like the 45 goons who attended the Learning of Science and Mathematics Roundtable Conference want our education system to go backward. They want Hishammuddin to revert the system. They want the Melayu to know Bahasa Melayu. They expect the whole world to know Bahasa Melayu. Sound like a kuno Malay mentality to me, as I know modern Malays would want to equip their children with better education, including mastering English language.
Related posts:
* Mastering second language does not make Malay less Malay
From TheBorneoPost
Do not rush to revert to Bahasa Malaysia
By Jacob Achoi
Thorough study must first be conducted, says STU president
KUCHING: Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) said the government should not rush to revert to the teaching of Mathematic and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.
Its president William Ghani Bina pointed out that a thorough study must first be conducted before any decision was made. “Academicians, professionals and experts must conduct a study first.
“STU and myself are not challenging the integrity of Bahasa Malaysia. Actually we respect BM as the national language, but to revert to the teaching of Mathematic and Science in BM should not be done in haste.
“The government must first carry out a thorough study, taking into various aspects like the education system, syllabus, learning and teaching methodology, and the facilities available,” Ghani said when contacted.
Ghani, who is Sarawak chairman of Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public Civil Service (Cuepacs), said this in response to the Learning of Science and Mathematics Roundtable Conference, attended by 45 academicians and representatives from non-governmental organisations, who wanted the government to revert to teaching of the two subjects in BM.
The policy to teach both subjects in English started in 2003, and Ghani said: “Five years to assess the situation and to come up with a conclusion is too short a time frame.”
He stressed that the teaching of the two subjects in English should be done in ‘one full circle’ — from Primary 1 to Upper 6.
Ghani said English proficiency was necessary to enable students to compete globally, adding most of the reference books for the two subjects were written in English.
--------------------------
From TheNewStraitsTimes
Sarawak union proposes additional training for Maths and Science teachers
KUCHING, SUN:
The Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) has proposed the education ministry provide additional training to Mathematics and Science teachers, instead of abolishing English as the medium for teaching the subjects in primary schools.
This, he said, was because some teachers complained there were too many subject contents for both subjects while the timeframe to cover all contents based within school periods, was too short.
“Five years is also too short a period to measure the success or failure of the present policy on Mathematics and Science. Therefore, it should be extended for a certain period of time,” he told Bernama here today.
Ghani suggested that the syllabus be trimmed to focus on improving the fluency of the English language at certain stages before moving on to master both subjects in English.
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How can a teacher who is suppose to teach our young Malaysian kids to be in harmony with other races be a racist himself/herself ?
The teacher who uttered racial slurs against a group of Indian students in Banting recently literally get away free and has only been given an administrative warning and transferred to another school.
Related posts:
* Racist rules in Malaysian schools
* Hishammuddin Hussein allows racist rule in Malaysian school
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TheStar
‘Racial slur’ teacher transferred
PETALING JAYA: The teacher who uttered racial slurs against a group of Indian students in Banting recently has been given an administrative warning and transferred to another school.
Education director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom said all parties agreed that the issue had been resolved and hoped they would not raise the issue again.
“The Kuala Langat district education office also obtained the assistance of Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator T. Murugiah on Aug 5 to set up a meeting between the parents and teachers,” he said in a statement.
Alimuddin said the state education department’s disciplinary committee decided that the teacher be given the warning.
“As one of the steps taken to cool down the issue, the teacher was placed temporarily in the Selangor education department’s counselling unit. The department counsellor will be working with her,” he said.
Two students from SMK Telok Panglima Garang recently lodged police reports against the teacher, alleging she had made derogatory remarks about Indian students and called them unflattering names.
Angry parents and other members of the Indian community had gathered outside the school to protest against the teacher.
“The ministry regrets the incident which occurred during a class at the school on July 18. It also caused dissatisfaction among the parents at the school,” said Alimuddin.
National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng when contacted, said a teacher must be professional at all times when teaching students.
Teachers have responsibilities to their students and should not mix this up with emotion, she added.
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Good news from Wee Ka Siong, the Deputy Education Minister who pledged that the government will fund the repairs of Sabah Chinese schools including building new classrooms.
However, the bad news is, no specific amount was mentioned.
Wee Ka Siong also revealed that some Chinese schools in Sabah were established over 50 years ago and had been operating with funding from Chinese community groups and nominal annual state government grants.
For 45 years (since formation of Malaysia), the Education Ministry or federal government has neglected the Chinese schools in Sabah (as well as other Chinese schools in other states). Wonder where the taxes from the rakyat gone to ...
Extract from TheStar
Wee: Government aid for Sabah Chinese schools
KOTA KINABALU: Government-aided Chinese schools in Sabah will get more assistance for repairs and to build new classrooms.
Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong said there were 83 primary and five secondary schools in the state and half the student population were bumiputras.
“In some schools, Bumiputras make up 90% of the student population. This is a special situation in Sabah and it is good for racial integration,” he said after meeting representatives of Chinese school managements here.
He said he would propose that repairs be made to schools that needed them and new blocks added to schools that were cramped.
“We will first try to provide the essentials such as school blocks,” he said.
The schools, some established over 50 years ago, had been operating with funding from Chinese community groups and annual state government grants.
Wee who visited a Chinese and government school in the northern Kota Marudu district on Saturday, said he was impressed that an adult literacy class was conducted there.
He said he was even more impressed with the fact that the eldest student there was 83 years old. Similar adult literacy classes were being conducted at schools in Sipitang and Kunak.
“These classes create awareness among parents about the importance of education for children,” Wee added.
Why can't school textbooks be free for all Malaysian school children ? A very simple question to Hishammuddin. All government schools and now government aided Religious Schools are given free textbooks. Religious Schools in this context are Islamic Schools.
This assistance is not given to Indian and Chinese medium schools as they are deemed un-nationalist. But they are still Malaysia citizen and there are school children in Indian and Chinese medium schools whose parent are just poor. The children there also student national syllabus and government approved subjects.
For those Indian and Chinese parents who can afford to buy the text books, it is not fair for them because they like everyone like is also paying taxes.
Another racist policy from the Ministry of Education.
Related posts:
* Racist rules in Malaysian schools
* Hishammuddin Hussein allows racist rule in Malaysian school
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Extract from TheStar
Textbooks scheme extended to religious primary schools
JOHOR BARU: The Education Ministry is extending the textbooks scheme to integrated religious primary schools next year, albeit only to Government Aided Religious Schools (SABK).
Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the ministry had allocated RM1.9mil for the scheme, which would initially cover Johor, Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Terengganu, involving 42 schools and 9,435 pupils.
He said it was Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, who mooted the idea of helping the religious school students in the state.
“This will relieve the burden of parents and make sure that those from less fortunate families are not left out in education,” he said.
Hishammuddin urged the community religious schools to register with the ministry to get the necessary assistance.
He said the allocation provided to SABK had risen from RM15.7mil in 2005 to an estimated RM180mil this year. Since 2005, the Government has allocated nearly RM400mil to SABK for the refurbishment of school blocks and facilities as well as for financial aid.
“This shows that the ministry has never marginalised any school,” said Hishammuddin.
He said the number of SABK students had increased from 26,211 in 2005 to 42,014 this year.
Hishammuddin said the ministry had so far registered 134 religious schools.
“If all had registered with the ministry, we would have 381 SABK in the country,” he said at the closing ceremony of the inaugural national kompang selawat and berzanji marhaban competition here yesterday.
This is a follow-up post on racist rules in Malaysian schools. As they said, educate Malaysian from young, corrupt them from young.
My previous post "Hishammuddin Hussein allows racist rule in Malaysian school" highlighted a discriminating rule in an English Language Debate competition for secondary school whereby the rules stated that there MUST be one Bumiputera candidate in the debate team, regardless whether that member is a dungu or not (so long as he or she is a Bumiputera).
No insult, dungu is God's creature but not meant for competition, ya.
You know when you include a dungu in your team, your team winning chance will be reduce by 20% or more. That idiotic rules definitely hamper team and motivational spirits. It dampen your fighting chance and that is the kind of rule that spoil young Malaysia. That will lead to racist Malaysian.
I mean, if that Bumiputera member is qualify for the team then you don't need the rule. But if there is no Bumiputera member qualify then don't force the team to include a dungu.
Let's go to an Islamic Religious school and imagine that there will be a Islamic Debate (no, you are not suppose to debate on religion) whereby the rules say the team must be include a non-Bumiputera. Tak masuk akal, right. Unless of course there is indeed a qualify Muslim non-Bumi in that school.
Image from: Bumiputra Rule in Malaysia's English Debate Competition - Word by word
Updated:
* Aug 20, 2008: Racist teacher still teaching
I came across a student blog where he post his updates in participating in an English debate competition. His team represents the state in a national level competition BUT only allowed if his team has a BUMIPUTRA representative.
Okay, I myself is a bumiputra but when it come to competition, you want the best members, the best candidates and not just a member of certain race to fill up the racial quota rule. That rule on the racial quote on a team is not only STUPID but darn stupid.
The objective of a competition is to field your best and try to win. How can you win with a handicapped team (because the rule say you have to include BUMIPUTRA member and what if you can't find the best bumiputra member, or that fella is not good enough) ? That would break your competing spirit. And no wonder, Malaysia alway f#$k up in international competitions !!
How can Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia Minister of Education allowed this kind of racist rule to be practiced in school. His education policy should encourage competitiveness among students regardless of race and religion. Allowing racist rule in school only teach the young generation to be racist among each other when they became adult in later life.
Read the student frustration on the racial rule in his blog below:
* Dead Ends & Frustrations Pre-Debate Competition
* The Bumiputra Rule in Malaysia's English Debate Competition
Updated:
* Aug 20, 2008: Racist teacher still teaching
--
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Mambong parliamentary constituency have 42 kindergartens in various location within the constituency and are operated with only just 32 teachers to go round.
Early education is very important and Kemas should provide at least one teacher for each kindergarten.
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Source: theborneopost.com/?p=35802 (May 22, 2008)
32 teachers for 42 kindergartens
By Samuel Aubery
Kemas officer says no problem as teachers willing to run from one kindy to another to ensure lessons are on
KUCHING: The Community Development Department (Kemas) in Mambong parliamentary constituency has 42 kindergartens with just 32 teachers to go round.
But Kemas coordinator in Mambong, Busman Rambli, denied that with just 32 teachers the department was facing the problem of shortage of teachers, saying some of the teachers were willingly working double sessions to make up for the shortfall.
“I must salute these teachers who are willing to work from one kindergarten to another in different sessions, and their services ensure that we realise our target in ensuring formal education from early age for these rural children,” he said.
Busman was answering questions from reporters during a combined Mothers’ Day, Teachers’ Day and pre-Gawai lunch at a hotel here to fete kindergarten teachers and Kemas staff from the Mambong constituency.
Apparently parents were not too happy that some of the kindergartens were without permanent teachers and questioned the effectiveness of having teachers who ran from one kindergarten to another.
There are 662 children aged four to six currently attending classes in the 42 Kemas kindergartens.
On another matter, Busman said the department, which is an agency under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, is constantly improving the learning conditions of all its Kemas kindergartens especially in rural areas.
This includes its kindergarten in Tringgus, which is currently the only one not enjoying electricity in Mambong.
“Rural electrification is currently ongoing in Tringgus and surrounding areas, and we will make sure our Kemas kindergarten there will receive electricity,” he said.
Students at local schools in Betong district has been reminded to buck up to improve their exam results. The reminder was conveyed by Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas. At the same time, Uggah also urged the school staff, its PTA and villagers to work together to achieve better result for the affected students.
In addition, the poor performance of the students is also attributed by the incompetency of the teaching staff. The Ministry of Education is at fault here. With limited resources in rural schools, students are deprived of adequate learning materials and it up to the teachers skills and experiences to guide the students. However, it has become a norm for the Ministry of Education to send a greenie or fresh teacher to those rural school without giving proper training for those teacher to teach under performing students.
As for the case of Sekolah Kebangsaan Ng Lawih, the Headmaster must also take the blame for not monitoring the situation. SK Ng Lawih UPSR passing rate stood at 22 per cent. In 2006, it was 55 per cent. A very pathetic result and shame to the teaching staff there. Perhaps some of the teaching staff should be transfer away and bring in more committed teachers.
The performance of the students of SK Ng Lawih is at the mercy of the teaching staff and it is very important for the students there to get good results so that they can further their studies and have a brighter future. Otherwise, they will remained in the backwater of Betong.
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Source: theborneopost.com/?p=35754 (May 21, 2008)
MP: 22 pct, down from 55 a let-down
BETONG: Local MP Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas has challenged students at rural schools here to score better results than their predecessors, in the UPSR examination.
Uggah, who is Natural Resources and Environment Minister, said he was saddened by the dismal performance of last year’s UPSR candidates at SK Ng Lawih.
Speaking at the school recently, he announced a RM5,000 grant “as an incentive” to do better, according to an Information Department press release.
“Similarly, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang, who was also present, announced a grant of RM6,500 for the school,” the press release added.
It quoted Uggah as saying that school staff, its PTA and villagers needed to “sit down together and look for ways to raise the passing rate of the school’s UPSR result”.
“There is no short cut to achieve success in education,” said Uggah, adding, “It is imperative that students really concentrate on their studies with proper guidance from their teachers to achieve better results in the future.”
Last year, SK Ng Lawih UPSR passing rate stood at 22 per cent. In 2006, it was 55 per cent.
Headmaster Ngali Jepit said various efforts had been implemented to ensure better results.
According to him, the school is now holding monthly test, pre-UPSR examination, UPSR clinic, motivation camp and other relevant programmes to assist students.
Meanwhile, Uggah also donated RM10,000 to Rh Ringkai nearby for infrastructure development.
