JULY 7 — The annual row over the award of government scholarships for high achievers in the SPM exams is hopefully over with the prime minister’s announcement that scholarships from next year would be based on STPM or A-Levels results.
While this is certainly the right way forward, it raises important issues as to the value of quality higher education in Malaysian society. Traditionally the debate has been on the demarcation of scholarship budgets by race and/or merit.
What seems to have been overlooked is the use to which the recipient puts the award, i.e. the course and the university selected, as well as the desired outcome expected of the recipient (GPA and the value of the education acquired).
Even the mechanism of ensuring that the taxpayers' money sees an adequate return on investment via the return of these students to serve the country by raising skills and standards are very poor. Simply put, there is no cohesive system that ensures the desired outcome materialises.
But even more worrying is the misplaced emphasis placed by parents on achievement in the local exams rather than focusing on international achievement. According to The Malaysian Insider, the government gives out 5,000 PSD grants and 500 special local scholarships. There are also 1,500 overseas scholarships. So where do these students go? In 2010, there was one Malaysian student who got admission in Harvard University out of a total of approximately 3,900 international students enrolled, as compared to 400 from China, 118 from Taiwan and 22 from Hong Kong.
Rather than bemoan the lack of overseas scholarships, perhaps the more pertinent question is how well is the local secondary school system equipping our students to compete against the best, if not globally at least in the region.
Proficiency in English, breadth of knowledge and a questioning attitude are some of the things tested by most Ivy League schools. Do Malaysian schools promote the acquisition of these skills over and above the curriculum? The ability to debate different points of view is increasingly important in the 21st century ideas economy. In a system which encourages rote learning and discourages alternative points of view, fresh and innovative thinkers are unlikely to emerge.
The fault does not only lie at the doorstep of the educational system and the quality of teachers, but equally with parents who abdicate their responsibility to mould young minds by simply demanding As from their children. The irony being that increasingly even straight As in the SPM is no guarantee of future success. Even the resurgent popularity of vernacular education is seen to be a function of greater discipline and a rigourous emphasis on the curriculum rather than preparing children for the ability to enter quality institutes of higher learning.
There seems to be a general lack of ambition to create world class scholastic achievers. While this may stem from a perceived sense of entitlement for a certain community, it is equally true for other communities who are perfectly content to preserve the stereotype by paying huge amounts of money to educate their children in nondescript universities and courses, as long as they are overseas.
But the times are changing. Any mediocre overseas diploma or degree is not enough for today’s generation to outpace their parents. As the requirements of the job market evolve, it would be best for parent’s aspirations for their children to evolve too.
* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.
