The Malaysian Insight

AN outdated system and unsound policies have become stumbling blocks for Malaysia to implement effective education reforms, said educationists.

They also expressed disappointment with the new government’s failure to embark on reforms and instead tinkering with existing policies.

For educator Yoong Suan, the government’s policy announcements also lacked clarity in terms of the reforms to be carried out and the practical implementation measures.

“It is difficult to see whether the new government can make a breakthrough in education reform or, as always, it’s just short-lived and finally ending up as a failure,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The former associate professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Department of Education also referenced the move to teach maths and science in English by Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his previous stint as prime minister as an example of a decision made without proper research.

Later research highlighted its shortcomings, which prompted the Education Ministry to discontinue the policy.

“Wrong measures are not only wasting the country’s money and resources – in the long run, the victims are still the pupils,” he said.

Education reforms should be planned systematically, he added.

First and foremost, policymakers should understand the aim, reason and need for reforms and the targeted stakeholders.

Such moves should also be backed by research and analysis, said Yoong, who also recommends surveys to collect feedback.

“It is also necessary to refer to relevant foreign models, have open seminars and invite domestic and foreign professionals to brainstorm ideas in order to come up with reform blueprints with specific descriptions of programmes and strategies. It must also include implementation time frame,” he said.

Yoong said policymakers should also conduct a test run before fully implementing any policy.

He added that data should be collected during the test run period to gauge its effectiveness and address any weakness.

However, participation of teachers and pupils is equally important when implementing education reforms.

The government should bring back curriculum development and allow other experts to help develop policies, he said.

For academic Tan Shi Yong, many education policies are theoretically sound and idealistic, but not practical.

The decentralisation of power by the ministry, allowing school management more autonomy and principals given decision-making powers, is in line with world trends, whereby creativity takes centre stage, she said.

“Of course, the main policy should be formulated by the Education Ministry but at the executive level, principals should have more autonomy rather than passively accepting instructions from above as in the past.” – July 12, 2019.