November 9, 2005
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As if
education system is not in a bad enough shape, here’s more bad news.
out by the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department uncovered 59,250 graduates looking for jobs.
The New Straits Times
reported Dr Fong saying 81 per cent of those jobless had attended public
universities and that the three main reasons the graduates cited for not getting jobs were:
- No job experience (49.7%)
Poor command of the English language and lacking in
communication skills (33.3 per cent)
The courses they took in universities were not relevant to
jobs available in the market (32.2%).
Another report in the Star had this to add
about unemployed graduates:
They think they should not be inconvenienced by their work
They do not have social skills
They are just not hungry enough
reason for their poor
attitude is due to over-protective parents who spoilt junior rotten by
not giving him or her responsibilities at home. Of course there's the
over emphasis on scoring A's, and excessive tuition, but I can almost
hear parents complain that it's the system that's to blame.
There's this confusion and parents can't tell schooling from education, and pity the kid who has to pay for the misapprehension.
education in the country and it’s a blight that’s tainted schools from primary to
university levels.
A recent survey in
the World Universities Rankings compiled by Times Higher Education Supplement
(THES) revealed that
89th place in 2004 to 169th place this year. That’s an 80-place plunge. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was in 111th place last
year but this year it has been unceremoniously dropped from the Top 200
bracket. Poor show all round.
but not for university administrators at UM. UM
vice-chancellor Hashim Yaacob instead made a boast of its Top 200
placing in a farcical display during a press interview. He was quoted in a
local daily that although UM may have slipped in its ranking, it nevertheless
is better than some 30,000 major institutions around the world, having made it to the Top 200! En. Hashim expressed "great happiness" that it even did better than last year (!) since UM made it to the top 100 in three sectors. That's an educator speaking here. What’s more
appalling, billboards (see pix) celebrating UM’s ‘achievements’ have appeared in the face
of public criticism and even agitation for the smug vice-chancellor’s removal. There’s
something comical about the whole business, but few people are laughing.Across the causeway, Singapore's national university took a tumble too,
from 18 to 22nd place. That's cause for a ruckus for anyone who has any
sense of pride in their public institutions, although 4 places down is
nothing compared to UM's abysmal drop. Curiously, someone wrote
to the Straits Times online wondering if the slip may be attributed to
insufficient 'branding.' You know, wrong perception of strengths and
leadership, etc. Now isn't that something?
an “I-told-you-so” slanging match but what’s happened can only be a sort of vindication
for homeschoolers. You won’t believe how many people have asked if by
homeschooling, our two boys would be able to find a place in local
universities. Do you think they will see the light now?Links to other views:
Education in Malaysia
Lim Kit Siang
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