Make economics a compulsory subject in school
Economics benefits students as it requires critical thinking. In making economics policies, we are not just thinking about getting high revenues or high GDPs. It is more than that. Social benefits and costs have to be taken into account as well.
Akhiar Khalil
When it comes to economics, it is very easy to think of it simply in terms of how much a company, city, or nation makes or loses in regard to profits and expenses. After all, revenue is all that matters, isn’t it? But while revenue is an important issue, that is certainly not all there is to it.
There are several other things to consider about economics and exploring exactly what it is that makes it efficient is an important first step in this process. Therefore, I consider the economic policy the most pressing public policy issue in Malaysia and suggest that we should make economics a compulsory subject in school.
In economics, there are no right or wrong answers and theories. We can have an endless debate about economic policies because all of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. There will always be a trade–off if a policy is implemented. As long as you can justify the reasons behind your policies or theories and be convincing, you will be on the right track. Thus, I think economics benefits students as it requires critical thinking. In making economics policies, we are not just thinking about getting high revenues or high GDPs. It is more than that. Social benefits and costs have to be taken into account as well.
Recently, the government introduced the GST and people protested. But sadly some of them who protested actually did not know anything about GST because they were just following the crowd or majority. I know there have been a lot of programmes or campaigns to explain what GST is all about. But it would be great if all of us had a basic knowledge of economics which was taught at school.
Most of the younger generation now tends to read newspapers starting from the back, which is the sports section, and stop reading it once they reach the economics or business section. Most of them do not have the interest because they do not really know how it works. They have never heard words like inflation, GDP or balance of trade terms. So how can you expect them to read or get interested if they do not really know what it is all about?
Everything in this world is connected to the economy. Education? Transport system? Agriculture? You can name an abundance of it. The public transport system, traffic jams and congestion has been a major problem now in KL and the Klang Valley. People are stressed out with this. If we turn on the radio, there will always be live traffic jam updates and it is becoming a common thing now. People have to leave their houses before sunrise just to get to work on time due to traffic congestion. How do you expect them to give their best at work if they are already tired once they arrive at the office every morning?
We can see a good example of how London managed their congestion. They introduced congestion tax which is a tax that is imposed on people who use their own private vehicle. But if the government wants to introduce the tax without burdening the people or in other words being protested against, they should provide good alternatives. An efficient public transport system would be a great one.
As economics becomes more important nowadays, I personally think that we should make economics a compulsory subject in our education system. This is because to obtain a better understanding of economics we must get to the core and dissect how it functions. Furthermore, I believe that it is better to have doctors and engineers or other professionals who have some knowledge of economics. Maybe the best way to improve the economic policy or condition of the country is by getting more people into it through education so that we have more brains to give more ideas and views. Together, we can make Malaysia a better home to live in.
