tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post3115982188704844596..comments2024-03-21T20:10:28.943+08:00Comments on EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA: Doing due diligence: finding educational opportunitiesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-10890550501557135982009-12-30T16:56:00.855+08:002009-12-30T16:56:00.855+08:00I can't see how recognizing a potentially bad ...I can't see how recognizing a potentially bad institution changes anything. Just because the university is in Australia, means nothing. I don't think Australian education really amounts to anything great.Hasanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13433359625438576596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-84118590232770170802009-11-12T15:43:47.013+08:002009-11-12T15:43:47.013+08:00Hi guys
I am in the higher education industry and...Hi guys<br /><br />I am in the higher education industry and I do not totally agree that it all boils down to having access to 'opportunities'.<br /><br />How does one know an 'opportunity' when he sees one?<br /><br />I believe maturity and presence of mind come into the picture as increasingly I observe that youths are less conscious about what happens around them.<br /><br />http://muslim-melayu-malaysia.blogspot.com/2008/06/cost-of-ignorance.html <br /><br />Anyways, I believe education is a big ship where all the stakeholders need to play their roles.<br /><br />RegardsAbu Abdullah Anas Al Banjihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14563638850933331648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-82984402668224505972009-11-11T09:46:53.680+08:002009-11-11T09:46:53.680+08:00msleepyhead,
Glad that helped!
The article that ...msleepyhead,<br /><br />Glad that helped!<br /><br />The article that you linked to is filled to the top with Malay Supremacists in the comment thread (ditto for the author, but that's another story), I do not think it's worth my effort to debate them.<br /><br />Reading Utusan lookalikes on the web is sobering, in that we are reminded that there are lots of people in this country still subscribing to such blatant discrimination against fellow citizens. Sometimes we all wonder how the "fake-citizens" of Malaysia become so disheartened with the country, no? How the vision of Dato'Onn and TAR was trampled by the mob, no?<br /><br />The main reason the famous foreign universities do not use a cut-off system is that they at least attempt to maintain a system of "holistic evaluation" - that is, the student as a person is evaluated from all practically observable aspects, instead of mechanical, standardized tests that can be utterly dehumanizing. It's less of a requirement on data issue than simply putting more effort into admissions. In fact, the obsession for test-related strategies is precisely the consequence of a test-based system - it's ugly and should be avoided if possible, but it does cut down costs significantly, and in many cases is the least evil of all options (see also: racial quotas). Note that the more test-centric a system is, the more obsessed a society becomes, hence the world-famous Japanese testtakers.<br /><br />Anon 0804,<br /><br />Purely anecdotal: I graduated from a world-class US university, and is currently in a much smaller, no-less-well-known graduate school. My apartment mate happens to be from the same school system I'm from - Malaysian Chinese "Vernacular".<br /><br />The Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, surviving under competitive pressure, actually do relatively well in informing their students of academic opportunities. Of course, that is relative to the overall average, and is by no means comparable to the very elite schools in this nation.Coltznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-20031683775627019532009-11-11T09:23:22.208+08:002009-11-11T09:23:22.208+08:00Regarding sharing of resources, back when I was ap...Regarding sharing of resources, back when I was applying for the local uni's I remembered there were guidebooks in Chinese for entrance into local unis. They gave details such as cut off points for the main courses and other stuff so that those with certain grades know what their best chances are to get into the courses they desire.<br /><br />Don't think they have the same for foreign uni's as that would require too much data in some way, and the 'Chinese system' of 'understanding' the system and 'taking advantage' of it would not work for admission into places like Harvard and so on I presume.<br /><br />How else could you explain the preoccupation with observing trends for past year results, questions, forecast and so on?msleepyheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-32357658402082225552009-11-11T07:48:42.334+08:002009-11-11T07:48:42.334+08:00This may sounds out of topic but it is an interest...This may sounds out of topic but it is an interesting tale that I like to share over here.<br /><br />A man several years back told me of his experiences in which he looked and searched hard for math&science tuition teachers within 100 km radius from his home for six months.<br /><br />He said he is doing this for his two children still in primary school.<br /><br />He told me the results. Some engineering background people willing to become tuition teachers, mostly with bachelor and several with masters.<br /><br />No people with medical background would want to do this job even as part-time tuition teacher.<br /><br />He also said he could find a few master in science graduates working as tuition teachers but he couldn't find anybody with PhD in science or engineering qualification.<br /><br />I replied and said that if he could find one PhD graduate in science, he may as well run for politcal office in general election representing his hometown constituency.<br /><br />"Why is that so" he asked and I said, "Go and read Romance of Three Kingdoms historical novel".<br /><br />He kept quiet, nodded his head and beginning to understand what I meant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-69492800335020177072009-11-10T20:04:07.430+08:002009-11-10T20:04:07.430+08:00Hi Tony, Kian Ming, John Lee and everyone here,
w...Hi Tony, Kian Ming, John Lee and everyone here,<br /><br />what are chances of a sek.keb.cina kid getting a shot at these opportunities or even aware of these opportunities(assuming the kid did good at school).<br /><br />wondering still should we send our kids to chinese schools or kebangsaan (from the example mentioned on SMK DJs / DUs)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-3885121198448724922009-11-10T19:45:34.708+08:002009-11-10T19:45:34.708+08:00One of the reasons for not sharing is selfishness....One of the reasons for not sharing is selfishness. The more people know the more competition there is!<br />Would be wonderful is some NGOs could provide awareness for these students.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-56289117322114275162009-11-10T17:57:14.314+08:002009-11-10T17:57:14.314+08:00@Coltz,
A big thanks there for the clear explanat...@Coltz,<br /><br />A big thanks there for the clear explanation. Those in favor of a one school system now has an outlet called the SSS, as I'm sure may of you have heard of, and they are pushing for a referendum on the matter. Whether the gov of the day will adopt it, is another matter, but it is time to give it a serious thought, the sole objective of the SSS is a one school system but the whole package asks for a review of the whole education system, taking into account sufficient attention is paid to mother tongue and other respects of the teaching curriculum.<br /><br />Check out the conversations here at DN: http://tinyurl.com/y9qn4ba<br /><br />Many thanks again.msleepyheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-86058794684417434012009-11-10T14:28:56.756+08:002009-11-10T14:28:56.756+08:00msleepyhead,
I assume that the "clans" ...msleepyhead,<br /><br />I assume that the "clans" you are talking about refers to the "hometown associations" found in major Malaysian cities, divided largely along dialect and geographic lines (there are no other significant "clan-like" organizations other than your everyday trade guilds, by the way). Then these questions can be answered as such:<br /><br />1. The clan associations used to be very significant, but are rapidly declining in importance in the recent decades. Today, membership has been mostly declining, and the financial aspects are mostly limited to scholarship for children of low-income members and cultural/festive associations.<br /><br />2. No. And nothing clan-related. Hometown associations may help in organizing fundraising efforts of local schools, but the majority of school funds are either collected from students' parents as operational supplements on a flat rate, or raised directly abd voluntarily from local communities. DongJiaZong coordinates the testing and curricular standards of schools nationwide and sometimes coordinate fundraising efforts, but is large incapable of doling out funds itself.<br /><br />3. No.<br /><br />4. No. And it would be hard to imagine the seniors killing time with mahjong in the association buildings will be involved in any serious gangs, anyway.<br /><br />Using the word "cling" might not be a good idea if you want to ask "in good faith", by the way. The questions are amusingly anachronistic, and I do wish you success in spreading the facts to people unaware of them.Coltznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-25762863579129452742009-11-10T13:52:22.422+08:002009-11-10T13:52:22.422+08:00Good ones John, ignorant is bliss as they say. A g...Good ones John, ignorant is bliss as they say. A good way to keep the masses opiated.<br /><br />This is out of topic, but I got these questions from my 'discussions' at the deminegara blog.<br /><br />Seeing there are more students from vernacular schools here than there. Perhaps someone would be kind enough to answer them or point to the right direction.<br /><br /><b>Aku</b> asked..<br />Now, in wanting to understand the Chinese in this country and the Dong Zong people clinging to SRJKCs, may I, in good faith, put the following questions to you:<br /><br />1. What is the nature of the clan associations of the Chinese, the range of members, do the big towkays help the smaller businesses<br /><br />2. Are all clan members ipso facto members of the associations, how much do they contribute to the SRKCs, are they per standard rates or according to financial ability<br /><br />3. Are the SRJKCs run on clan lines, each SRJKC financed by the clan concerned<br /><br />4. These may be sensitive ones but I'm asking in good faith: Are the clan associations and/ or SRJKCs connected to any of the secret societies and gangs. Are those secret societies and gangs run along clan lines.<br /><br />END<br /><br />It'd be great to get those from vernacular school's thoughts on the matter.msleepyheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-84763158860133160252009-11-10T00:46:44.365+08:002009-11-10T00:46:44.365+08:00Most schools are commercialised and privatised now...Most schools are commercialised and privatised nowadays so they would not be bothered about which university you went to as long as they earned profits from you. Secondly, counsellors are not immune to the lure of money and are not often generous enough to give good advice. If they did they would not be there in the first place. Third, can't help feeling we have all been taken for a ride by bureaucrats who just want to impose more tariffs each time we want to further ourselves. Finally, the paper chase makes us suckers in the rat race which comes to the final point can we survive the onslaught of the demise of the economy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-4388192380528343912009-11-09T16:33:16.035+08:002009-11-09T16:33:16.035+08:00I think some fault lies in the school counselors a...I think some fault lies in the school counselors as well. For example, in my school, the teacher in charge of mentoring/counseling/career advice only exposed us to the basics of applying to public universities, matriculation, etc. Perhaps he or she could have actually spend more time searching for opportunities for us students, especially the ones with potential. <br /><br />In short, I think that connections, family and friends are important to open our eyes to the vast opportunities out there. Its true, my mom is a teacher and ,my dad is a financial officer(considered middle class) yet most of the information on scholarships and college applications after SPM come from my part. <br /><br />Ps: I don't blame them, they're my parents.Wei Jiethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12641850155886299678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-5601374928851745632009-11-08T22:23:43.263+08:002009-11-08T22:23:43.263+08:00Yup spot on, no doubt about, if you don't know...Yup spot on, no doubt about, if you don't know about the opportunities out there, you just can't get in. I think this is also similar in every aspect of life. Example in business etc. It's the hard facts of life. Just so happened that Anucia woke up to that. Well at least she woke up to it. There are about many more out there that didn't even know till the time they retired! And that would be even more painful don't you think so?<br /><br />Well, I suppose there should be some good people out there who can provide awareness for these people. I believe in Singapore, scholarship givers/universities actually go out of their to visit schools/colleges before they graduate to inform them about this availability. This is one way to increase awareness as well. Malaysia up to it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-75541470997318357242009-11-08T12:03:49.488+08:002009-11-08T12:03:49.488+08:00Yes, it's all about awareness and opportunity....Yes, it's all about awareness and opportunity. Given the right awareness and opportunity, everyone can use their full potential and achieve something.<br /><br />Visit:<br />http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2009102304<br />The Asian student, Sean Koh (full name: Koh Chau Sean), mentioned in the winning team is a Malaysian. He did his SPM at a national type school in PJ, Selangor, and then his A-levels at one of the junior colleges in Sigapore under an Asean scholarship. He is a GIC scholar at the University of Cambridge.<br /><br /><b>Malaysian youngsters: be informative, be bold, be prepared to take challenges and grab opportunities, and be global.</b>Learn from historynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-42709845816499700322009-11-07T12:05:32.426+08:002009-11-07T12:05:32.426+08:00I agreed absolutely. The information gap between t...I agreed absolutely. The information gap between the urban middle-class and the rural families are getting wider. It is easy to stand and blame people for being unaware, not trying hard enough, etc. If you think it is the people like Anucia's own fault, don't bother to comment/read this blog please. The ideologies are simply different.YKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-88155184048703458422009-11-07T11:16:42.414+08:002009-11-07T11:16:42.414+08:00couldn't agree with you more. I'm from urb...couldn't agree with you more. I'm from urban area and studying local university now.i think the awareness is still not there.for secondary students in our country, even those who staying in urban area, we don't get a proper or enough information about where to continue our tertiary education.most of us merely know it's either continue with form6 so to end up in local university or colleges.HCnoreply@blogger.com