Sunday November 12, 2006

Think out of the box, public unis told

PUBLIC universities should strive to think out of the box instead of merely following conventional methods of governance.  

Universiti Sains Malaysia National Higher Education Research Institute director Prof Morshidi Sirat said many university leaders tend to refrain from taking risks or adopt new methods of governance. 

“This is sad because they end up losing out on opportunities along the way,” he said in an interview recently. 

However, some universities such as USM had broken away from the norm, he added. 

“For example, USM is the first public university to set up a corporate arm, Usains Holding Sdn Bhd, to manage its private ventures. Later, other universities began to follow its example,” he said. 

Citing another example, he said the Public Services Department’s age limit for foreign lecturers to teach at local universities was 65 years. 

He said USM appealed against the age limit, stating that the foreign lecturers had special skills which were difficult to replace. 

“Our appeal was granted and our foreign lecturers are now on yearly contract,” he said.  

Elders should show the way

© Copyright 2006 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.

Another route to a degree

© Copyright 2006 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.

MOE identifies key areas in drive to improve English

New language programme piloted as part of review to close language divide among pupils

By Sandra Davie, Education Correspondent
Jul 26, 2006
The Straits Times

TWO out of every three Primary 1 pupils at Woodlands Primary come from non-English speaking homes, but after just half a year on a new English language programme, these students are eager to read and confident enough to ask questions and be heard in class.

The school is one of 30 across the island piloting a new Education Ministry (MOE) programme to develop in children confidence and love for English through reading.

Instead of lessons on grammar and punctuation, the students read a book together and learn about the language by asking questions, writing short stories, role playing or using puppets to act out the storylines.

The review committee will look at three areas: syllabus and the way it is taught, teacher training and development, and how agencies like the National Library Board and the media can play a bigger role.

Speaking at the launch of the Speak Good English Movement at the National Library, he stressed that the review was not meant to fix any perceived decline in the standard of English among students.

In fact, a 2001 international literacy test had shown that Singapore's 10-year-olds who come from English-speaking homes read with more understanding and wrote better English than their peers in several other countries, including Britain and the United States.

Among the older cohorts, the number of O-level passes and distinctions for English has been steadily going up.

But he admitted that students' abilities in English vary considerably, depending on language backgrounds at home.

For example, half of the pupils who entered Primary 1 in January use English as the main language at home, while 37 per cent use only some English at home, and the rest, not at all.

The wide range of language abilities is also evident from the feedback from teachers who reported that many students, especially in neighbourhood schools, tend to use Singlish or a mix of English and mother tongue languages with friends.

The minister said the aim of the review is to bring about a minimum standard of English among all students, so that they will be able to use English comfortably in everyday situations and for work.

But the recommendations, which will be released in October, will also enable those who are good in the language to develop a high level of proficiency or even acquire a mastery of the language that will put them on a par with the best of the best in English-speaking countries.

Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui added that schools here had a core group of good English teachers who are highly proficient in the language and who can teach very well. The review committee will look at how this pool of teachers can be enlarged.

And this may not mean hiring more native speakers from Britain, Australia or other English-speaking countries.

He said: 'What we need in our schools is more good teachers. I don't particularly care where they come from. They can be retired teachers who can be enticed back to teach, or from overseas.'

In the same vein, he said the discussion should not focus on whether English standards among the young have declined.

'To me the relevant question is, 'Can we be better? Should we be better?' The answer must be 'yes', given the context we operate in, being a globalised economy and the node that we want Singapore to be in, in this economy.'

sandra@sph.com.sg

GOOD TEACHERS NEED NOT BE NATIVE SPEAKERS

'What we need in our schools is more good teachers. I don't particularly care where they come from. They can be retired teachers who can be enticed back to teach, or from overseas.'
MINISTER OF STATE (EDUCATION) LUI TUCK YEW, saying that enlarging the pool of good English teachers here need not mean hiring native speakers from English-speaking countries

The Star Online > Focus

Monday August 15, 2005

International schools may not suit locals

Comment By V.K. CHIN

THE proposal to allow more international schools to be established has become a controversial issue. While the idea is a good one, the main objection is that locals can study at such institutes. 

The Government's aim is to make Malaysia more competitive in the education field though at present only children of foreign nationals are admitted. 

Local children, who have been studying overseas while their fathers are working in a foreign land are admitted only if they had their earlier education abroad. 

This permission has been granted because they received their education only in the English language and therefore they would not be able to fit into the local schools where the medium of instruction is the national language. 

International schools have been started to cater to the needs of foreigners who are working for multi-national corporations, international agencies or are posted here as diplomats. 

As many have their school-going children with them, they would send them to international schools where English is the medium of instruction so that their studies would not be affected when they return home. 

They therefore have to send their children to international schools even though the tuition fees and other charges can cost tens of thousands a year at the primary level alone. 

They can afford to do so as the cost of educating their children is normally part of the package they get from their companies for such postings. 

With more foreigners working in Malaysia, there is a need to open up this sector as the demand is there. Otherwise, expatriates may not be keen to be posted here as they wish to have their family members with them. 

But there may be some opposition if these schools were allowed to admit local children. Some feel that these schools are too elitist and would not be good for Malaysians to study there. 

There are others who believe that it is better for Malaysians to study at national and national-type schools as the pupils can have better interaction and understanding of each other. 

There will be no such integration for those studying at international schools as they will be mixing mostly with foreigners with a different cultural background.  

The Star Online > Focus

Wednesday August 17, 2005

National schools need proper environment to flourish

COMMENT
By V.K. CHIN

IT MUST be accepted that international schools have a few advantages over the local ones. As they charge very much more, they can afford to have smaller classes to ensure quality education. 

If the education ministry can make a few major adjustments to national and national-type schools, their standard should be about the same, apart from English of course. 

The main advantage the international schools have is that the teacher-pupil ratio is very low, usually one teacher to between 10 and 15 students and a maximum of perhaps 20 pupils. 

With the high tuition fees and other charges, these schools naturally have teachers who enjoy the luxury of a small class and are able to give personal attention to each of their pupils. 

It is not that they are more qualified since Malaysian teachers are no less inferior. But if you have a class of 40 or even 50, proper teaching is almost impossible and discipline will be difficult to impose. 

Therefore, if the local schools can have smaller classes, then it will be much easier for the teachers to manage their pupils properly. They should also be given less administrative work, which is an unnecessary distraction. 

Of course, it is impossible to match the resources of the international schools but the ministry can still do something to raise the standard of teaching at national and national-type schools. 

The tough part is to reduce the size of each class to a more manageable level. The ministry is forced to take in more pupils because of demand and it will be a long process to achieve a comfortable teacher-pupil ratio. 

However, if the ministry wants the national schools to be the preferred choice of parents, then it must provide the proper environment for them to flourish. 

The parents must have confidence in their quality and should have no hesitation in sending their children to such schools as they know that the pupils will get a proper education to prepare them for work or higher education. 

There is no genuine concern that the national schools will lose out so long as parents have faith in them. Private schools are not serious contenders because they are quite expensive for the lower-income group, which forms the bulk of the population. 

But the national schools will definitely have to improve on their academic and disciplinary performance to salvage their image, which has gone below the eye level of many parents. 

Nevertheless, there is a lot of complacency among the teachers in national schools as they realise that even if the enrolment should keep falling, their jobs will still be safe.  

The Star Online > Nation

Friday May 19, 2006

Bid to stop students going abroad

By SYED AZHAR

KUALA LUMPUR: Allowing Malaysians to study in international schools will stop them from seeking the same curriculum abroad, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. 

The Deputy Prime Minister said that if the Government restricted parents from sending their children to international schools, there was a likelihood they would send their children to neighbouring countries like Singapore and Thailand or to Britain.  

孏he Cabinet decision is to stop this migration. The country will lose revenue if parents send their children overseas,?he told reporters at his office in Parliament house yesterday. 

Najib was asked to comment on the Cabinet decision to allow Malaysian students to make up to 40% of the enrolment at international schools.  

幈ne of the conditions is for students at these schools to take one or two subjects in Bahasa Malaysia so that they maintain their identity.? 

The Government was also encouraging Malaysians to study a globalised type of curriculum, he added. 

孏his is another step by the Government to turn Malaysia into an education hub,?he explained. 

廍ingapore and Thailand have already liberalised their education system and in following suit, Malaysia will improve its competitiveness in the region.?nbsp;

There are 32 international schools in Malaysia with an enrolment of 10,663 students. 

Saturday June 3, 2006

Use English fully in schools I READ with interest your report on the opening up of international schools for Malaysian students, “Option for students” (The Star, May 18).  Isn’t it ironic that the Government should now see it fit to allow our students to attend international schools where the medium of instruction is in English?  However, this will not benefit the majority as the cost involved is high and not every Malaysian parent can afford to have his child enrolled in one of these schools save for those coming from middle and upper middle-class families.  We used to have a good education system where the medium of instruction was English. Even back then, the national language was never neglected and students had to pass the Bahasa Malaysia paper in order to have a full certificate at Form Five level.  If only our leaders had the foresight to appreciate the importance of the English language, we would not be having this problem of many graduates finding it hard to gain employment because their command of English is severely lacking.   The Government should be brave enough to admit that it was a mistake to have placed less emphasis on English in our education system.   Now a generation of our youth cannot speak English properly. To counter this, the Government decided to have Mathematics and Science taught in English.   The flaw is that there are not enough teachers who are good in English to teach the subjects for they too were the product of a system that had placed emphasis on Bahasa Malaysia.  What is really needed here is to revert to English as the medium of instruction in our schools. Start at primary level and move on from there.    MICHAEL NG,  Seremban. 

The Star Online > North

Friday June 30, 2006

School born out of Communist threat

THE founding of the International School of Penang (Uplands) dates back to the Malayan Emergency when a communist insurgency threatened the nation’s peace and stability. 

Attacks by communist terrorists against rubber estates led the planting community to seek a safe haven where expatriate planters could send their young children to school without much fear or worry. 

Penang Hill was identified as an ideal location and the Incorporated Society of Planters leased the premises of the former Crag Hotel on the hill to open a primary boarding school for some 60 children in 1955. 

In 1977, the school was moved to its current location in Pulau Tikus where it occupies a 90-year-old French-style building which it leased from the La Salle Brothers. 

The La Salle Brothers had acquired the building in 1916 and used it as a novitiate and a teachers’ training college. 

In December last year, Hunza Properties Berhad bought the 4.1ha site from the La Salle Brothers for RM97.86mil to build a mixed-development project. 

And so, once again Uplands has to move – this time to its very own campus in Batu Ferringhi. 

Boasting such a splendid past, the school has been popular with parents who are keen to equip their children with a strong foundation in education from primary to post-secondary level. 

Now an International Baccalaureate World School, it is accredited by an impressive range of prestigious bodies, such as the Council of International Schools and New England Association of Schools and Colleges.