Teo-Education.Com

I fully agree with the letters “Change the way exams are set and marked” (The Star, July 19) and “Teachers may hold too much power if exams are abolished” (Sunday Star, July 18).

I wish to relate a similar incident that happened to my daughter when she was in Year Two. In one section of her Maths exam paper, various groups of objects were given and students were asked to express these groups in mathematical form e.g. in two groups of five objects each, the only correct mathematical expression would be 2 x 5 = 10 instead of 5 x 2 = 10. There were five such questions in that section which carried a total of 20 marks.

My daughter had all the multiplication correct but not the order of the expression. No marks were awarded to her in that section even when she had the correct multiplication.

When I asked the teacher why, her answer was that she had to go according to the marking scheme.

What effect do you think this will have on a child eight years of age? Firstly, it is demoralising because she hasn’t been rewarded for at least some form of correct effort on her part. Secondly, it reinforced in a child that rote-learning is important and any form of deviation is unacceptable. Thirdly, the loss of 20 marks would make a difference between an A and C grade in a paper. So for those busy unsuspecting parents, that would mean their children are weak in Maths and therefore, the most obvious thing to do would be to pack them off to tuition classes to learn the “correct” way of doing things.

by Concerned Mum.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/21/focus/6700084&sec=focus

KUCHING: The Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) has proposed to the Education Ministry to enrol more Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) holders for teacher training courses and reduce that of the Post-graduate Teacher Education Course (KPLI).

Its president, William Ghani Bina, said this would ensure that only those who were genuinely interested in the profession join teacher training courses and posted to rural areas.

He said as most KPLI trainees choose the teaching profession as the last resort after failing to get other jobs, this would be detrimental to the quality of education in the long run.
“STU proposes to the ministry to enrol more SPM holders from Sabah and Sarawak for teacher training courses as many of them are keen to be teachers,” he told Bernama here today.

Ghani claimed that SPM leavers, who were trained as teachers, were more dedicated and committed to their profession.

BERNAMA.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/EnrolmoreSPMholdersfortreachertraining_/Article/

KOTA KINABALU: The Education Ministry has started deploying to Sabah and Sarawak teachers who come from the two states, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said here yesterday.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the process would take time because of the absence of an equal number of teachers to make the switch between the peninsula and the two states.

“Sabah and Sarawak have asked for their own teachers to be deployed to the states as the students can better understand them and this can solve some of the problems,” he said .

Replying to a question, Muhyiddin said the ministry would try to resolve the provision of a computer laboratory in each of the 250 schools in the state as approved under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Sabah Education Committee chairman Datuk Masidi Manjun had said recently that only three of the 250 laboratories had been built by contractors.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/12teac/Article

There are do’s and don’ts in restrooms that many people think they already know. It is called toilet etiquette.

Whatever you do in the toilet is meant to be private, so please don’t be a peeping Tom!

However, it is poor etiquette when you do not flush or leave the sides of the toilet bowl wet with urine after use.

In that case, you are at fault and should make amends by cleaning up.

More importantly, personal hygiene is everyone’s responsibility.

Just because the school does not provide you with facilities like paper towels or soap, does not mean you have an excuse not to practise personal hygiene.

Throwing rubbish into the toilet bowl is poor etiquette and shows little consideration for others.

Don’ts

·Don’t throw your food wrappers, sanitary napkins or anything that you don’t want into the toilet bowl. A clogged toilet bowl would require the services of a plumber.

l Do not shake the water off when drying your hands, especially if there are other people around. It is rude to do so.

·Don’t squat on the toilet seat. You are supposed to sit on it.

·Vandalising the toilet facilities by scribbling your favourtie or not-so-favourite teacher’s name on the walls or mirrors is not going to do you any good.

Do’s

·Always flush, and make sure all your ‘deposits’ are flushed away.

·Don’t forget to wash your hands with soap after every visit to the toilet.

If there is no soap, use a hand sanitiser.

·Dry your hands after every wash.

·Dispose your sanitary napkins in the bins provided.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/7/18/education/6675976&sec=education

Our schools seem to have the filthiest toilets and something needs to be done quickly to change the mindset of those who use it.

THE stench was unbearable and he was about to throw up, but there was no choice, Wai Sen* plugged his nose and quickly made his way through the slippery floor to answer nature’s call.

The sharp stench of urine and faeces was enough to force the primary school boy to hurry things up.

“I always try to get my ‘business’ done as fast as I can because it is just too stinky in the toilet,” says the 10-year-old boy.

For eight-year-old Gloria*, any thought of lingering in the school toilet longer than necessary is revolting.

“There are only two basins in the washroom and one is clogged because somebody vomitted in it recently, so we cannot even wash our hands,” she laments.

As if that isn’t bad enough, Gloria even found an empty fast food container in the toilet bowl. One just has to bring up the subject of dirty school toilets and chances are adults and children alike would have lots to say about them.

Graffiti on the walls and mirrors is a common sight in school toilets.

School toilets are where students can relieve themselves without having to wade through pockets of water or taking in the smells of urine, faeces and even vomit.

The cleanliness of toilets, in fact, is also a reflection of the school community, which many people overlook.

Some cubicles have no doors while others have faulty ones. The sinks and counter tops could do with a good scrub.

The current education system is so focused on our students achieving A’s, that it tends to overlook other basic issues that are just as important like personal hygiene and toilet etiquette.

by Tan Ee Loo.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/7/18/education/6673649&sec=education

KOTA KINABALU: State education exco Datuk Masidi Manjun has urged the federal government to look at Sabah’s education problems in a different perspective.Speaking at the launch of the State Education Department excellent service awards presentation ceremony at the Federal Administrative Building yesterday, Masidi said the main problem why many problems had never been solved in the State was that the federal government always looked at education in Sabah from the peninsula perspective.

“Sabah is a big land, where we need more allocations to address our educational needs, not only in the rural areas but also in the city.

“We want the federal government to trust Sabahans to overcome our own education problems because we know our situation here,” said Masidi.

He added that the State Education Department would be able to do what is best for education in Sabah, as long as the federal government is giving the promised allocations without any delay.

One of the existing problems that remains unsolved since the Ninth Malaysia Plan was the project to provide computer labs for schools in Sabah, said Masidi who presented excellent service awards to 192 Education Department staff, principals and headmasters.

“Out of a total of 300 computer laboratories, we only managed to get 250 for schools in the state.

“But only three of 250 computer labs have been completed thus far. The poor performance of these contractors has deprived our students of learning basic computer applications,” said Masidi who is also the Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister.

He said the contractors for the projects were appointed by the Education Ministry at the federal level and these contractors would not know the present situation in Sabah, unlike the local contractors.

“These contractors get into a situation where they do not know our situation, especially when building computer labs in the rural areas that do not have any electricity supply.

by Mariah Doksil.

Read more @ : http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=48975

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said Chinese education remains an emotive issue and that the party has requested an allocation of RM1 billion for national-type (Chinese) schools under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).

Statistics put the number of Chinese students enrolled in national schools at six per cent which roughly translates to 186,000 pupils.

The New Straits Times asked the MCA and Gerakan leaders if they thought the continued segregation of pupils at a young age would harm integration.
The thinking seems to be the Chinese schools, too, present a means of integration as some non-Chinese parents prefer Chinese-type schools. The Bumiputera enrolment in Chinese primary schools is reportedly at seven per cent.

As for the nexus between Chinese schools and politics, there has been a pattern of a majority of Chinese voters going with non-Barisan Nasional candidates lately despite the BN government demonstrating its commitment to Chinese schools.

Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon denied that this was an act of rejection by Chinese voters. For almost two centuries, he said, Chinese communities carried the financial burden of running these schools without assistance from the government, which for long periods, was under the British administration.

Currently, there are some 1,290 Chinese national-type primary schools, some grappling with practical problems.

“Many of the national-type Chinese schools do not receive such funding from the government due to their status of not being built on government land,” said MCA deputy-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

by Masami Mustaza.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/6mc/Article/

I SHARE the view of the Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah that the rising number of abandoned babies testifies to the fact that Malaysia is facing a serious moral crisis.

One cannot ignore the fact that incidents of infant dumping are getting more rampant today.

Such incidents are certainly a reflection of the serious deterioration of our moral values which, if not addressed with a sense of urgency, will lead to the destruction of the moral fabric of our society.

Who should take responsibility for this? My answer is everyone – the parents, youths and teenagers, the relevant authorities and society as a whole.

According to Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, the National Registration Department registered some 257, 000 births between 2000 and July 2008 without the names of parents which translated into about 2,500 babies born out of wedlock monthly or 84 cases daily.

This certainly is a matter of concern which we cannot ignore.

by Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, Kuala Lumpur.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/6/focus/6609806&sec=focus

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), in welcoming the government’s move to increase the number of graduate teachers in primary schools from 28 to 60 per cent, said it was timely.

NUTP president Hashim Adnan said with the presence of more quality teachers in primary schools, on-going efforts to produce quality human capital for the country could be achieved.

“This is a very good move indeed, and we hope that the government will be doing the same thing for secondary schools.”
He said the move would also help to enhance the performance of students in critical subjects such as Mathematics and Science.

“When you have teachers of quality around, the students will experience a world-class education system.”

More teachers’ training programmes, however, needed to be held for aspiring teachers, he said.
“The programmes will benefit not only students but also add knowledge to the teachers in bringing the teaching profession to greater heights.”

On the move for candidates with Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) to be considered for enrolment into the Chinese language programme in Institutes of Teacher Education (IPG) to meet the demand for quality Mandarin language teachers in schools, he said this was in line with the 1Malaysia concept, envisioned by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“We fully support this move and with UEC graduates around, we will be able to get more qualified Chinese educated teachers to teach Mandarin in schools.”
Najib, when tabling the 10th Malaysia Plan, also said the same consideration will be given to those with Sijil Menengah Agama and Sijil Tinggi Agama.

by Koi Kye Lee, Suganthi Suparmaniam and Ling Poh Lean.

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/7nutp/Article/

IT was reported that the Education Ministry had formed a Special Committee on Teachers’ Workload to study the extra workload handled by teachers.

Presumably, before any findings and recommendations can be made, the ministry will have to first collect information from schools.

Teachers will be asked to answer questionnaires; some may be interviewed.
This, ironically, is the “extra workload” teachers are complaining about. Of course, it is understood that collecting information is part of the problem-solving process.

However, the ministry must recognise that most of the extra administrative and clerical tasks that teachers have to handle do not originate from their schools.

They are mostly directives from the district education office, state education department and the ministry.
The studies, surveys, reports, projections, proposals, feedback, estimates and plans conducted, formulated and requisitioned by the higher authorities continue to filter down to schools throughout the year.

They may be for different surveys and studies, but the same information is always required.

And so, teachers are made to furnish this information over and over again.
With computer facilities available, why isn’t there more coordination and better storage and dissemination of school data and information at the district, state and national levels?

This uncoordinated and chaotic dishing out of directives requiring this and that from teachers is what is causing so much unhappiness to them.

To rub salt into the wounds, there is always a deadline to meet. Sometimes, officials do a survey, study or proposal to justify the relevance and existence of their office or position rather than to meet the needs of schools.

No wonder teachers feel that filling in those forms or questionnaires is a waste of time.

The ministry should clean up its own house by conducting an audit on the work it imposes on schools.

Any such work should have school-focused goals and there should be better coordination. Redundancy and ad hoc approaches must be avoided.

The ministry should not burden teachers with more questions to find out what is burdening the teachers.

by Liong Kam Chong, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan,

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/19heat/Article