Public Service Announcement: AI on EDUCATION

To answer some of my EsteemedReaders's queries about PKR's policies, here's one official statement from Sdr Anwar Ibrahim, Party Adviser:

MEDIA STATEMENT
received via Email from anwaribrahimblog.com:



20 March 2007

Malaysia's Schools Failing Those Without the Luxury of Choice


The centrepiece of any nation's development must include its education policy. Therefore it is worrying that on the verge of our 50th Merdeka, our schools are still stuck in third world curriculum while many still do not have our 'first class infrastructure'.



While the government has talked about Smart Schools for over a decade, the Education Development Masterplan has revealed that nearly 20% of our primary schools do not have clean water supply; nearly 35% lack a computer lab; more than one fifth lack science labs and one tenth do not have uninterrupted electricity supply. Overall, over two thirds of our primary schools do not have complete infrastructure. This is in addition to the revelation by YB Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in her open letter to the Minister of Education on 13 December 2006 that our the percentage of spending on education lags behind Senegal, Malawi and and Kenya while we are among 24 nations including Palestine and Maldives that suffered a drop in primary school enrolment between 1999 to 2004.



The regions stuck with the worst-equipped schools tend to be those in the rural areas, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak, serving poor and marginalised communities. This exacerbates the social inequality and diminshes the ability of education to provide sustainable social mobility. All this talk on human capital is moot if these communities continue to be left behind. The majority of the marginalised are the Bumiputeras, yet the Minister of Education is more concerned about brandishing the keris than solving this problem.



This is further exacerbated by the haphazard decision to switch the teaching of Science and Mathematics to English. This has led to a lowering of standards as the Ministry is intent on proving that the change of medium has not affected students performance. We do not dispute the need to improve the command of English, but this should be done through improving teaching standards and allocating more time towards the subject, not by sacrificing our struggle of establishing our national language as a common bond between all Malaysians.



At the same time, our curriculum remains highly exam oriented. All emphasis is on rote learning and performing well in examinations. Rather than providing for a holistic approach to education, the new open system in SPM has led to an obsession of scoring as many A's as possible without any question of its relevance. More worryingly, this starts from an early age as our children are already burdened with a heavy workload in addition to their heavy school bags. This is only worsened when the parents enroll young children in tuition centres.



The government's utter lack of faith in the national education system is illustrated by the announcement by the Ministry of Education to allow more Malaysians to go to International Schools. While it is a shame that our national schools are no longer the school of choice for those who can afford to choose, the bigger tragedy is that they are failing those who do not have the luxury of choice. Furthermore, the national language must be reinstated as the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics, while constructive measures are introduced to improve proficiency in English. We have no choice but to prepare our citizens for globalisation, and that can only be done by getting back to basics: creating an accessible and holistic education system for all starting with our primary schools.



ANWAR IBRAHIM


KENYATAAN MEDIA


20 Mac 2007


Sekolah-Sekolah Malaysia Terperangkap dengan Kemudahan dan Kurikulum Dunia Ketiga


Dasar pendidikan seharusnya menjadi asas dasar pembangunan sesebuah negara. Maka adalah amat merisaukan ketika kita berada di ambang Kemerdekaan negara yang ke 50, sekolah-sekolah kita masih lagi terperangkap dengan kurikulum dunia ketiga dan banyak lagi yang tidak memiliki 'kemudahan dunia pertama' kita.



Meskipun kerajaan telah merwarwarkan Sekolah Bestari selama lebih sedekad, Pelan Induk Pembangunan Pendidikan telah mendedahkan bahawa hampir 20% daripada sekolah-sekolah rendah kita tidak mempunyai bekalan air bersih; hampir 35% tiada makmal komputer; lebih dari satu perlima tiada makmal sains dan satu persepuluh tidak mempunyai bekalan elektrik sempurna. Secara keseluruhannya, lebih dua pertiga sekolah rendah tidak mempunyai kemudahan yang lengkap. Ini merupakan tambahan kepada pendedahan YB Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail di dalam suratnya kepada Menteri Pelajaran bertarikh 13 Disember 2006 bahawa peratusan perbelanjaan pendidikan kita ketinggalan berbanding Senegal, Malawi dan Kenya di samping kita tergolong di kalangan 24 negara termasuk Palestin dan Maldive yang menghadapi kemerosotan enrolmen sekolah rendah antara 1999 hingga 2004.



Lazimnya, kawasan luar bandar yang memberi perkhidmatan kepada masyarakat miskin dan terpinggir yang terperangkap dengan sekolah-sekolah yang paling dasyat keadaannya, khususnya di Sabah dan Sarawak. Ini mengeruhkan lagi jurang sosial dan melemahkan kebolehan pendidikan untuk memberikan mobiliti sosial yang lestari. Tiada gunanya kerajaan terus bercakap mengenai modal insan sekiranya golongan-golongan ini terus ketinggalan. Majoriti yang menjadi mangsa ialah golongan Bumiputera, tetapi Menteri Pelajaran lebih mementingkan menghunus keris daripada menyelesaikan masalah ini.



Ini ditambah pula dengan keputusan tergesa-gesa menukar pengajaran Sains dan Matematik kepada Bahasa Inggeris. Ini telah mengakibatkan tahap pendidikan menjadi lebih rendah kerana Kementerian ingin membuktikan bahawa perubahan bahasa penghantar ini tidak menjejaskan prestasi pelajar. Kita tidak mempertikaikan keperluan meningkatkan penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris, tetapi ini sepatutnya dilakukan menerusi meningkatkan kualiti pengajaran dan penambahan masa pengajarannya, bukannya dengan mengorbankan perjuangan kita menegakkan Bahasa Melayu sebagai Bahasa Kebangsaan di kalangan semua rakyat Malaysia.



Pada masa yang sama, kurikulum kita masih terlalu berorientasikan peperiksaan. Penekanan ialah pada hafalan dan cemerlang di dalam peperiksaan. Sistem terbuka SPM yang baru diperkenalkan bukannya membolehkan suatu pendekatan menyeluruh terhadap pendidikan, sebaliknya mengakibatkan kegilaan untuk mendapat seberapa banyak A tanpa memikirkan tentang keperluannya. Lebih merisaukan lagi, ini bermula dari peringkat umur yang awal lagi memandangkan anak-anak kita dibebankan bukan sahaja dengan beg yang berat tetapi beban kerja yang berat. Ini menjadi lebih parah lagi apabila ibu bapa menghantar kanak-kanak kecil ke pusat-pusat tiusyen.



Pengumuman oleh Kementerian Pelajaran untuk membenarkan lebih ramai warga Malaysia memasuki Sekolah-Sekolah Antarabangsa menggambarkan bagaimana kerajaan sendiri tidak yakin dengan sistem pendidikan negara. Semestinya hakikat sekolah kebangsaan kini bukan lagi sekolah pilihan untuk mereka yang mampu memilih ialah sesuatu yang menyedihkan, tetapi tragedi yang lebih besar ialah ia gagal mendidik mereka yang tidak mempunyai pilihan tersebut. Bahasa Melayu mesti dikembalikan sebagai bahasa penghantar untuk Sains dan Matematik, di samping memperkenalkan langkah-langkah konstruktif untuk meningkatkan penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris. Kita tiada pilihan melainkan menyediakan anak bangsa kita untuk menghadapi globalisasi, dan ini hanya dapat dilakukan dengan kembali kepada asas pendidikan: melahirkan sistem pendidikan yang inklusif dan menyeluruh untuk semua bermula dengan sekolah rendah kita.


ANWAR IBRAHIM

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DESI:

Desi does NOT get paid for such community service announcements. It's my individual commitment to move political development in NegaraKu in what I deem a progressive direction, especially unifying Opposition parties in a common quest to form an alternative government. The best option I can see available at the moment if you are not happy with the BN government.

If you are happy with UMNO, MCA, MIC et al's shenanigans, then hold thy tongue; bury thy head in the shifting sand.

Read-lah both the statements from Sdr Anwar, ex-DPM to undersatnd what change he is pleading the populace to embrace; also it helps to raise your Bahasa and English language proficiency plus being informed of what to expect should the alternative coalition led by PKR come to power.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS.

To answer some Readers based overseas, please regioster as a Voter at the Malaysian High Commission/Embassy nearest ytou.