YOURSAY | MOE too important to be helmed by beginners

YOURSAY | ‘Minister and her team appear clueless on what ails our education system.’

COMMENT | Fadhlina should go back to school

Apa pun boleh: The very fact that Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has seen fit to introduce the Hadith 40 module shows either she has no inkling what ails our country of non-employable school-leavers, or she wants to further the race and religion factor that has corrupted our schools and institutions and the future of our children.

Parents and students are in an unenviable dilemma. They are stonewalled by the system.

The schools are run like the personal fiefdom of a selected few (teachers and administrators) and protected by the education department.

As seen from many cases of discrimination and victimisation that have come to light through students and parents, such matters are straight away covered up with internal investigation by the department.

A case in point is the recent controversy where non-Malay students were forbidden to wear their traditional outfits other than that set by the school.

Indian students were forbidden to wear the saree nor tie the holy string on their hands. Students who flouted it were listed and threatened with punishment.

When parents protested the education department did an internal, denied the allegations, implied everything was above board and that the parents had accepted the explanation.

They are at the mercy of the school as long as the wrongdoers are protected, and the students remain under the charge of these wrongdoers.

It reflects the many other things that have gone wrong in the country, reducing it to a failed state and leaving the people without recourse to the mercy of abuses by those in authority.

BrownCheetah9736: Firstly, it is wrong for such an important portfolio to be held by first-time inexperienced MPs and political lightweights.

I dare say no one has heard of both the minister and deputy minister of education before their appointment, and they don’t even have the necessary basic knowledge of our education system.

They are there simply to fill party and racial quotas. They are unqualified to make any significant changes.

Instead, they will focus on social issues and welfare, like improving toilets, the roofs of schools, the food in the canteen and so on.

There will be no changes to improve the standard and quality of education.

Anyway, the minister has already said it before.

Our education system is on par with Japan and Singapore, so no changes or improvements are necessary. Except when it comes to religious studies.

Unspin: Unlike the developed countries, the teaching profession in Malaysia is often seen as a "last resort".

We need to upgrade the status and salaries of teachers so that we can attract the best talents.

If we have better teachers, we will have better students and, over time, that will result in a positive cycle.

Since the unity government is considering a progressive wage structure, it is worthwhile to upgrade the salary structure of teachers to a higher level - in a special category that is different from other civil servants.

Kilimanjaro: Is it just Fadhlina? Almost all education ministers have gone on to be prime ministers.

Instead of asking who was the best, it would be better to ask who has been the worst.

Frankly, these days I don't care at all.

After their basic years, it is important and necessary to help our children with their private studies instead of ending up being forced to take something irrelevant.

There are many professional courses, both online and privately conducted.

Most of the online professional courses are considerably affordable and have a high earning income. I have encouraged my children along that path.

Instead of begging for places, they did pretty well, and it didn't burn a hole in my pocket. Some private institutions have done pretty well too.

Alternatives are there, just look around and change with the times. Today, a data analyst earns a lot more than a degree holder.

Don't simply end up with a business management degree and then feel you are getting nowhere.

When my brother applied, he was offered a course which had almost zero value.

Instead of accepting it, he did something else, and he is doing fine now.

He did his A-levels at a private college.

The subjects may be the same as in national schools, but the environment, competition and professionalism of his lecturers helped him to be someone later in his life.

Jay Tee: A revolution in our education system is needed!

Why? Teacher absenteeism, overloaded administrative work, curriculum out of context for the future, bias, religious activism overrides common sense, poor classroom facilities, infrastructure failure, and no exams until Form 5.

So, it’s a grand disaster. So many turn to home-schooling, international schools or Chinese schools to survive.

Hmmmmmmmm: It looks like our government is taking education very lightly.

How do you explain appointing Fadhlina as a minister? Nothing seems to be happening here.

I believe that is because the minister is clueless about what to do or how to start.

The people around her are just as clueless. Looks like she's trying to keep a low profile so that nobody notices it.

When she finally opened her mouth, it was to introduce more religious studies. I give up.

Appum: Malaysiakini columnist Mariam Mokhtar, as usual, you are hitting the bull's eye with this piece.

Honestly, this current minister of education is the most ineffective and incompetent of all we have seen and gone through so far.

This scheme of events has been showing down-slope graphs as we plough through the 21st century.

Education in the Malaysian context is a rotten egg.

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