Instead of trying to improve our students rankings in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study(TIMSS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), our ministers are more interested in politicising our schools.
Excerpt from Dr Francis Loh's article, Education: Political parties, stay out of our schools!
in Aliran:
'In early December 2013, the minister of youth and sports and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin called for the removal of restrictions to allow Umno to reach out to 17- to 18-year-old pupils still in schools. Made during the Umno general assembly, Khairy’s call sparked a debate among politicians and leaders of civil society organisations, some of whom were supportive of and others opposed to his call.
Former deputy education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, in agreeing with Khairy, stated that 60 per cent of youths voted for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the May 2013 general election, and so Barisan Nasional had to work harder with the youths. “Umno must engage them from young. Perhaps 18-years-old is a good start,” he stated.'
'The problem in our schools is not simply a question of the quality of education and teacher training and of spending our money efficiently and effectively to that end. Earlier, we noted that Wee Ka Siong had stated that schools ought to be kept ‘apolitical’ and on that ground disagreed with Khairy’s proposal to allow political parties into the schools.
In fact, our schools have already been politicised many times over! How horribly forgetful, if not naive of the former deputy minister of education!
Recall how, after the Pakatan Rakyat took over the Penang state government, the photograph of the new chief minister could not be displayed in schools; his deputy was not allowed to distribute free spectacles to needy students who needed them (so he had to distribute them on a Saturday outside school hours instead!).
Recall, too, that schools in Opposition-led states were directed not to invite PR political leaders – including the chief minister and state executive council members – to grace school functions like speech day or sports day. And, in Penang, an annual grant to high-achieving students from the state government to students could not be distributed by the schools, although similar grants from the federal government could be.'
More:
http://aliran.com/aliran-monthly/2013/2013-8/education-political-parties-stay-schools/
I recall too, how our then DAP MP of Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan, was left out at a St Bernadette's Convent school event. Even Sultan Azlan Shah noticed the glaring omission.
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Excerpt from Dr Francis Loh's article, Education: Political parties, stay out of our schools!
in Aliran:
'In early December 2013, the minister of youth and sports and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin called for the removal of restrictions to allow Umno to reach out to 17- to 18-year-old pupils still in schools. Made during the Umno general assembly, Khairy’s call sparked a debate among politicians and leaders of civil society organisations, some of whom were supportive of and others opposed to his call.
Former deputy education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, in agreeing with Khairy, stated that 60 per cent of youths voted for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the May 2013 general election, and so Barisan Nasional had to work harder with the youths. “Umno must engage them from young. Perhaps 18-years-old is a good start,” he stated.'
'The problem in our schools is not simply a question of the quality of education and teacher training and of spending our money efficiently and effectively to that end. Earlier, we noted that Wee Ka Siong had stated that schools ought to be kept ‘apolitical’ and on that ground disagreed with Khairy’s proposal to allow political parties into the schools.
In fact, our schools have already been politicised many times over! How horribly forgetful, if not naive of the former deputy minister of education!
Recall how, after the Pakatan Rakyat took over the Penang state government, the photograph of the new chief minister could not be displayed in schools; his deputy was not allowed to distribute free spectacles to needy students who needed them (so he had to distribute them on a Saturday outside school hours instead!).
Recall, too, that schools in Opposition-led states were directed not to invite PR political leaders – including the chief minister and state executive council members – to grace school functions like speech day or sports day. And, in Penang, an annual grant to high-achieving students from the state government to students could not be distributed by the schools, although similar grants from the federal government could be.'
More:
http://aliran.com/aliran-monthly/2013/2013-8/education-political-parties-stay-schools/
I recall too, how our then DAP MP of Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan, was left out at a St Bernadette's Convent school event. Even Sultan Azlan Shah noticed the glaring omission.
The rule of the thumb is that if you want to have a Nationwide Central Annual School Based Assessment System they you must have a Standardised Testing System. If each school is doing the testing in isolation then the Standard Variation will be too large to facilitate meaningful application of those results.
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