Govt is experimenting on students with too many education policy changes
KUCHING: Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) lecturer Lee Kuok Tiung said school children should not be used as guinea pigs each time there was a system change.
“School children are not guinea pigs for the government to do experiments on,” Lee said to New Sarawak Tribune when asked to comment on Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik’s recent announcement calling for an end to subject streaming after students get their Form Three Assessment (PT3) results.
Lee said the government should carry out a proper and in-depth study first before changing an education policy to avoid making guineas pigs out of students.
“We have gone through so many changes in the past such as the policy on ‘teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English’ (PPSMI) and ‘Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening the English Language’ (MBMMBI).
“So, how’s this 60:40 Science and Arts policy? How about STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)?
“Remember the government has even built 69 science secondary schools (Sekolah Menengah Sains) and 51 Mara Junior Science Colleges (MRSM) nationwide,” he said.
Maszlee said last week that the streaming system currently being carried out in Form Four was ridiculous as it resulted in many students who were born to be scientists ended up in arts, while many students who excelled in the arts were forced to do science subjects.
Lee posed a question of who would be responsible to tell or guide students on what subjects to choose?
“Form 4 and Form 5 Science subjects usually refer to Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Additional Mathematics.
“Can a student choose Biology and Chemistry only if he or she wants to become a medical doctor?
“What happens if suddenly after a year (Form 4) he or she discovered that he or she is no longer interested to become a doctor anymore and looks for something else?
“We must understand that the subjects in schools are foundational subjects unlike in university level which are more focused and complicated. Hence, a student cannot choose one Science subject only and the rest are Arts stream subjects. We must have proper guidelines,” the academic said.
