PPSMI and the Malaysian education malaise
By de minimis
One of the part that worries me about the PPSMI saga is the claim by the Minister of Education that the matter of reversing the PPSMI policy has been given deep thought by all and sundry in the Cabinet.
What worries me is that the Malaysian education system is too fragmented to the point that it now mirrors Astro programming.
And, what do I mean by that?
It is disturbing to see that Malaysian children are being shafted into different directions in the name of seeking quality education, culture and/or just plain, affordability.
Parents who perceive that the quality of education in national schools (sekolah kebangsaan) have deteriorated precipitously have been sending their children to national-type Chinese schools or international schools.
Other parents who doubt the quality of national schools have been sending their children to private schools using the national syllabus.
Parents who believe that their children need to maintain their perceived “cultural identity” have been sending their children to Mandarin-medium or Tamil-medium schools. Let’s not forget that there was also a time when Malay parents would send their children to Malay-medium schools with the same intent.
Parents who believe that their children should be at the apex of society with a fighting chance of being entrenched as the elite of Malaysian society and/or be competitive at a global level, have been sending their children to international schools based in Malaysia!!!!
That’s what I mean by the Astro-programming parallel.
And, I believe this to be the major issue.
This is the pink elephant in the room that the Minister of Education and the Cabinet has chosen to ignore.
Granted that this issue is a delicate and complex one, someone still has to address the issue.
Or, maybe this is the precise point.
It is NOT a political issue because no one, on either side of the Parliamentary divide, be they Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, have bothered to deal with the matter.
Yet, everyone who has school-going children and anyone who has undergone any of the education routes I have outlined above should know or recall, the educational anomaly that exists in Malaysia.
Who amongst the political leaders of contemporary Malaysia has the courage to raise this issue? Who dares to bell this cat?
No one.
All we have are parochial and chauvinistic gallery-pandering politicians and educationists who champion their own little causes.
Will no one stand for the Malaysian nation?
