LETTER | All's not sunny in our public school system

LETTER | I may not be an educationist per se but I am a product of our education system back in the 1980s-1990s. I graduated with an engineering degree and went on to a successful global engineering career with a well-known multinational company.

This year, my youngest daughter entered Form 1 at what is deemed a premier girl school in Penang. In just three months since she started lessons, I do see some issues that have resulted in the lack of motivation in students to pursue their studies.

I will list three factors:

• Insane time-table scheduling

Although my daughter is in the morning session, her school has activities that will last until 6:15pm. Note that she has to wake up at 6am to get ready to go to school. Thus, she comes home dead tired. So are most of her friends who are yawning in class. Their mind will not be in a state to absorb knowledge.

• Non-starter subject in our system

Only in Malaysia, we have allocated some time to study something called RekaBentuk Teknologi. No other country has such a nonsensical subject. Imagine the time that can be given back to other core subjects that the rest of the world is measured on.

• Usage of social media (without controls)

Schools are asking students to use Telegram for various subjects and activities. There are no guidelines, moderation or cut-off time.

Teachers are using Telegram as a crutch when information should have been given at lesson time. But Telegram, a Russia-based app, also exposes our children to other harmful content as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is well aware of but not the Education Ministry.

In my schooling days, everything was done within the timetable schedule; there are no ifs and buts. No one needed to stay back until late evenings. Our teachers were eager to teach us. Our generation went on to do great things here and abroad.

These three factors might seem trivial but when combined, they affect the ability of the students to absorb knowledge and get a good night's rest.

In the last two months, I have tried to raise these issues with the Education Ministry, but as usual, my efforts were futile.

Our ministry seems to pretend things are sunny when they are not: the rot has started as early as Form 1. We are losing our younger generation.

I urge everyone who agrees with what I have written to call up the ministry and your MPs to demand they address these issues since these are public institutions funded through our tax.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.