MoE has announced its intention of ‘absorbing preschools into the national education system’, citing the improvement of English as the reason to do so.To realize that education does not begin in schools (nor end in universities) is definitely a welcomed development but there are some lingering questions surrounding the latest decision.
Is this decision another reactionary gimmick by the government to appease critics of the recent PPSMI reversal that are concerned about the deteriorating level of English among Malaysian students? If not why let the improvement of English be the sole motivation behind the ‘absorption’ of preschools when the development of a child includes cognitive, emotive, and behavioral dimensions?
Also, what does it mean to ‘absorb preschools into the national education system’ when the Education Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Zulkurnain Awang was also quoted as saying that “The children need not necessarily attend the pre-school classes run by the ministry as there are private ones too.”
Does it mean that there will be government-run preschools alongside private ones? If so what exactly is being ‘absorbed’ into the national education system? Or does it mean that a standardized curriculum will be imposed on all preschools (with heavy emphasis on improving English)? Or preschools will be made mandatory for children of a certain age? Should it be made mandatory at all? What are the implications of all these on the present private preschools which are said to be flourishing?
I welcome this announcement if it is to generate public debate on the matter. But experience tells us that such announcement is usually done to silent critics and gain political mileage, without genuine consultation with the important players. It reeks of the government’s stench of prototyping children and their development, and demonstrates its orientation of formalizing everything that works into a standardized formula.
Perhaps the ministry might want to look into how it can best complement the existing system that works and invite more parties for roundtable discussions before jumping into another ambiguous policy decision that has grave ramifications for the future of our children.
In any case, throwing out safety floats piecemeal will not save a sinking ship. What is needed is a coherent and integrated education system from preschools to tertiary education that addresses the needs of a young nation. Only then the ship sails on… and sails with pride…
4 comments:
actually at the moment there are pre-schools that are government-run.
from what i heard they're thinking of absorbing government-run preschools into the national education system.
no surprise, cos i think they use mainly BM and left english at the sidelines..
interestingly...pre-school is the only sector of education that is predominantly privately-managed and profit-driven.
i just found out that 57% preschools are provided by the government while 43% by the private sector. of the 57%, they comprised of classes by the ministry of rural and regional development, department of national unity & integration and ministry of education. the government-run preschools are said to subscribe to the National Preschool Curriculum (NPC) enacted in 1996, while the private sector is recommended to do so.
http://www.mychildmalaysia.com/pdf/dec/Pages%20from%20MCM%20Dec08-Jan09%20Edition-33-34.pdf
interesting indeed. so all along we have government-run preschools that are NOT part of the national education system. and now we want to 'absorb' these preschools into the national education system on the pretext of improving english when the national education system needs an overhaul itself when it comes to the teaching of english.
or maybe muhyddin's english is so bad that his choice of words here are really, really confusing.
Looks like the reason is not merely about "English". Another Deputy Minister made some comments about licensing of childcare services. Both issues are related.
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