New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change. – Sarah Ban Breathnach, American best-selling author, philanthropist and public speaker
Do you still remember your first day in school? Even if the historical moment was decades ago, it’s sure to be imbedded deep in your memory as it is one of life’s unforgettable experiences.
Going to school for the first time for a child is to face a new situation and environment. For some it is scary while for others it is interesting for a variety of reasons including the opportunity to meet and make new friends.
The 2019 school year kicked off in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu on Tuesday. For other states including Sarawak, it started yesterday.
Some half million children in Malaysia are year one pupils this year. Last year, a total of 4.65 million students registered at 10,200 primary and secondary schools nationwide. Of the total, 2.66 million were primary school pupils and 1.99 million were secondary school students, including lower sixth formers.
Yesterday was the beginning of what will be a long and challenging journey for each of the children. A Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, said the journey of a thousand miles begin with one step, so yesterday was the first of thousands of school days for the children. As American best-selling author, philanthropist and public speaker Sarah Ban Breathnach said, it’s a new chapter in life waiting to be written. Yesterday was just the first page. Many more pages are waiting to be written.
Over the next 17 years, at least 6,204 more will be written by these children, and how the pages will be written depends very much on what happens in school, family and society.
Really, education and learning is not a destination but a long winding journey during which one is bound to face a lot of challenges. Only with strong determination can one become successful.
Parents put high hopes in their children that they sent to school yesterday. Deep in their hearts they want the kids to get through various hurdles successfully and pass their examinations with flying colours.
Education is the passport to the future. No wonder, parents are willing to invest their time and money to ensure that their children get the best education possible.
Hence, a lot of complaints about Malaysia’s standard of education have been debated by the media, politicians, parents and academicians.
So, what’s the way forward for Malaysia to ensure that our education system and standard are on par with top countries like South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands?
Maybe it’s high time we learn more from these countries then adopt and adapt whatever elements that are suitable for our multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural country.
What do parents expect after their children have been in school for 10 to 15 years? Surely it’s not just to see them secure good jobs and earn fat salaries.
The World Economic Forum reports that to thrive in 2020 and beyond you need these skills – complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision making, service orientation, negotiation and cognitive flexibility.
In my opinion (I have been in the education line for more than 30 years as a teacher, school inspectorate, school principal and a lecturer), students need to learn about communication, teamwork, imagination, creativity, and acquire analytical skills. This is the way forward for Malaysia in order to be competitive in the future.
Obviously, education is not just about passing examinations with good grades. Intelligence, wisdom and good character are the ultimate goals of education. There’s no point having excellent results without good character.
What’s the point of having a degree from an established university and having a high position/status in an organization or society if one is involved in abuse of power, corruption and other immoral or illegal practices that go against the teachings of one’s religion and the laws of the country?
No wonder Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, during his recent visit to Japan, advised Malaysians to follow the footsteps of the Japanese. He wants us to emulate their discipline, punctuality and cleanliness.
We should inculcate these noble values in our children in our school system but we should not just leave the responsibility to teachers. All of us are responsible.
Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said he was committed to transforming the nation’s education system by focusing on a learning system that is technology-centric with emphasis on the English language.
Apart from mastering the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, emphasis should be placed on English as it is not only an international language but also the main language of information and education. It is the language of the future.
Concerted and serious efforts have to be taken to ensure that our students can master English with a certain level of confidence and fluency after they have completed Form Five. This is necessary because many university graduates can’t even make a proper sentence in English after learning the language for more than 15 years.
The Education Ministry will also formulate a new curriculum which is expected to be rolled out by the end of 2020 or earlier. According to Maszlee the new curriculum would ensure that subjects to be taught in school would not burden students and teachers.
He said that aside from prepping students for the working world, they would also be exposed to high-level (international standard) thinking skills.
We should heed the words of Malcolm X (1925 to 1965), an American Muslim minister and human rights activist, who said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
So, when some half million children went to school for the first time on Tuesday and Wednesday, they are in fact preparing for their future. Whether one is successful or not educationally depends on many factors including the quality of schools and home environment, encouragement from parents and teachers, and the students’ own commitment.
We hope that our children would reap in future whatever they plant today. Their future is literally in their own hands.
As a Chinese proverb aptly puts it, teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.
• Associate Professor Dr Jeniri Amir is a lecturer and a political analyst at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
