Monday, January 08, 2007

National Education Blueprint in Progress?

Nanyang Siang Pau reports that there is still a shortage of 1,700 Chinese-language teachers in Chinese vernacular schools. This is despite the Ministry of Education having sent some 900 qualified Chinese-language teachers.

If there is such a severe shortage of these teachers at the start of the current academic year, dare I even speculate on the implementation of the Chinese mother tongue programme for the national schools? This commendable programme was meant to commence in the previous academic year, but we have yet to hear any announcement if it has actually started.

If the implementation of the National Education Blueprint to be released this week, which is meant for 2006 to 2010 is already in progress, then it certainly doesn't bode well for Malaysian students.

Whats more, the New Straits Times reported that schools are making compulsory unnecessary completion of irrelevant forms by parents on their income and background.
The form has the Education Ministry logo and the general heading “Student Information Form”, and requires parents to submit the documents to “help the school manage student affairs.” Those who have neither a pay slip nor a J-form must “provide an Income Declaration Form verified by the employer, Commissioner of Oaths, a Justice of the Peace, a village head” or other community head.

Other details asked are the parents’ employer’s name, the address, their income tax number, basic monthly pay and other information relating to the child’s transportation to school.

The Education Ministry usually asks for such details only if parents are applying for various funds or schemes, such as the text book loan scheme. But parents who complained to the New Straits Times today said they had not applied for anything.

Some parents even complained that the forms are “more difficult than a form applying for a mortgage”.

Is this the Ministry's new examination system for parents under the National Education Blueprint?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tony,
The are Malaysian Chinese parents who are quite open-minded about sending their children to a national school but want the child to have the opportunity to learn to read and write Mandarin.
I'm one of these.

The Chinese mother tongue program in national schools is a good idea to address these concerns, but under the circumstances, I can't see this taking off. Is there any political will to solve the problem ?

Anonymous said...

What can we expect if the person holding the highest office is just a chicken (i personally don't mind be one since i got the pay). Definitely no one will listen and bother about what he said. Own survival is more important than people's. Read the article below, which makes me laugh like hell, especially the last sentence.

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is dismayed at the perception that implentation of his policies left much to be desired because of the poor public delivery system.

The Prime Minister said if the view persisted that the public sector seemed not to be doing its jobs, the end result would be the perception that it was corrupt.

In his New Year message at the Prime Minister’s Department monthly gathering here Monday, Abdullah said the civil service must be able to prove that the public delivery system was working.

Referring to a recent seminar on his three years in office, the prime minister said he was unhappy that although his policies were described as good, there were views that the policies were let down by poor implementation.

"Is this criticism against government officers and departments?

"If that is the conclusion, then those of us at the top are also involved because we are part of the implementation process," he added.

The prime minister said civil servants must strive harder to stop the perception that the service was weak and poor in serving the people when they failed to implement government policies.

"If everything seems to be all right and yet on the ground there is not enough effort to implement, then the perception is that there might be corruption involved," he added.

He also said he would be seeking more views from those who felt that the public delivery system was lacking.

"I want to find out why they feel this is so and if necessary, I want to change the perception."

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

do not go to the link put up by indian_male. It contains some sort of malware.

To indian_male: frack you.

Anonymous said...

Any hidden agendas for this another Blueprint?

How can we trust these people who their own children are not taking the 'medicine' they concocted?