Malaysian Students Aboard

2008/11/27 Malaysian students abroad: The rich can afford the best, but what about the rest? MARIAM MOKHTAR, Ipoh

I WRITE in response to the report "The real reason prestigious Egyptian university rejected local students" -- (NST, Nov 21).

It was reported that our students were performing poorly consistently. Seventy per cent of Malaysians had failed their examinations, had taken 10 years to complete their four-year courses and had failed to grasp Arabic. This equates to 2,800 students.This was a big waste of resources if they had been sent on government scholarships. Even if it was privately funded, it is still an immeasurable loss. And the time lost can never be regained.

The problem does not lie with Al Azhar (a similar problem also confounds universities in the United States and Britain). The problem definitely does not lie with the students. It lies with our education system.We have to be honest with ourselves. Or rather, the government has to take stock of the situation and rectify this before we become a worldwide object of ridicule and rejection.

The bottom line is that our education system is failing our students.As an example, we are lulled into a sense of greatness when it is reported in the media that our students have scored several As and are, thus, declared scholarship material. Politicians thump their chests and proclaim that our education is world-class.Unfortunately, those who are in the know are aware that when it comes to communication, be it at interviews or informal discussions, or at writing essays, few of our students have a good grasp of language. They also have poor numerical and social skills.

Politicians and the well-to-do need not fear the inadequacies of our education system. They send their children abroad to study. Some of these politicians have benefited from the better education system of yesteryear but are unable or seem unwilling to extend the same privilege to the current population.Of the rich who were denied a good education in their youth, these people realise that to strive for improvement may mean getting an education abroad. They have the means to do so, but what about the rest of the population?So when will academicians and politicians take our interests to heart? If progress is to be made, we have to improve the education system now.