M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
Wake up Malaysia! If you don’t improve the standard of education, the national economy will suffer.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
The education problem in Malaysia is serious because students are not proficient in reading after Primary Standard Five, a World Bank Report states.
“Only 58% of students in Malaysia are proficient in reading by the end of Standard 5, significantly worse than regional peers (34% struggle in similar economies).”
Another noteworthy finding is the relatively high rate of teacher absence reported by students in Malaysia.
"There is limited data on teachers' content knowledge in Malaysia, but what little exists, suggests room for improvement," said the report as reported in the Says.com.
For instance, when tested in 2018, only 28% of English teachers were found to be proficient in English. While the number has improved to 53% by 2020, the report said teachers need to be better equipped to be effective in classrooms.
The report highlights a troubling inefficiency – Malaysian students spend an average of 12.5 years in school but learn the equivalent of only 8.9 years.
This report serves as a wake-up call for Malaysia to address systemic issues and ensure that education spending translates into tangible improvements for all students.
Too many children are not learning sufficiently in Malaysia despite their time spent at school, and the budget allocated to public education, according to a World Bank report
The national education budget has remained steady at about 3.2% of the gross domestic product.
The World Bank's Bending Bamboo Shoots: Strengthening Foundation Skills report reveals that despite Malaysia achieving near-universal primary education goals such as high enrolment rates in preschools and primary schools, many children still struggle with learning outcomes and perform poorly compared to neighbouring countries with similar gross national income per capita.
Educational performance is even lower among students from low-income backgrounds.
The report found that while the average Malaysian child spends 12.5 years in school, they learn the equivalent of only 8.9 years.
In comparison, Vietnam, which spends less on education than Malaysia, offers students 12.9 years of schooling for 10.7 years of learning.
In neighbouring Singapore, the average child spends 13.9 years in school and learns the equivalent of 12.8 years. The report found that 98% of Malaysian students attended preschool before entering primary school, and approximately 24% still lack school readiness skills.
"Since learning is cumulative, weak foundational skills jeopardise performance later on," the report noted.
The World Bank pointed out that by the age of 15, Malaysian students fall behind their peers in countries such as Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Singapore in reading, math, and science as measured by international assessments.
When measuring core competencies through the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Malaysian students performed worse than their counterparts in Vietnam:
- Only 41% of students in Malaysia attained proficiency in mathematics, significantly less than Vietnam's average of 72%.
- In reading, 42% of Malaysian students attained proficiency, compared to 77% in Vietnam.
- In science, only 52% of students in Malaysia passed baseline proficiency, compared to Vietnam's 79%.
- To improve learning outcomes in Malaysia, the report recommends:
- Ensuring that all children benefit from high-quality preschool education and arrive in primary school ready to learn.
- Measuring student learning outcomes and teacher performance against global standards.
- Strengthening support for teachers through effective teacher training programs, as well as policies that consider teachers' experiences and needs.
- Ensuring that all children benefit from high-quality preschool education and arrive in primary school ready to learn.
- Given that poorer children are less likely to have school-readiness skills, improving access to and, the quality of early childhood education for them could provide long-term benefits.
- In addition, support for teachers could be strengthened through effective teacher training programs, as well as policies that consider teachers' experiences and needs, thus ensuring effectiveness and sustainability.
You can find the full report by clicking: here
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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