Students talk back

MALAYSIAN students tend to get a lot of flak for not being expressive enough, but this was hardly the case at the Talkback Classroom forum held at the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur recently.

From issues of arts education to the controversial Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (better known by its Malay acronym PPSMI) policy, young people were full of questions and ideas for the current education system.

Organised by the Australian High Commission, the forum was a culmination of the Talkback Classroom project.

Initiated in 2003 by its founder Stephen Cutting, Talkback Classroom gives secondary school students the opportunity to voice their opinions on national and international issues, as well as interview key policy makers.

This year’s programme explores the theme of Education in the 21st Century, focusing on education-related concerns in Malaysia and Australia.

Two students from each country were selected to represent their peers; representing Malaysia were SMK Damansara Utama student Devinia Sunshine Owen Devan and SMK Sultan Alam Shah student Muhamad Farhan Khairol Anwar, while the Australian representatives were Emily Halls and Duncan Wallace.

The team had spent two weeks visiting schools around Malaysia, as well as meeting educators and academics to garner an insight into education issues in the country.

They even had the chance to spend time with Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“It was incredible to be able to speak directly to the minister, especially to express the opinions of the youth,” said Muhamad Farhan of the experience.

“I was surprised to find it easy to talk to him, and he answered all our questions quite well.”

Meanwhile, the forum was meant to be a sharing session of the Talkback Classroom teams, with additional input from a guest panel comprising Australian High Commission education counsellor Louise McSorley, journalist Shanon Shah and Prospect Malaysia editorial advisor Nina Adlan Disney.

Moderated by Cutting, students and teachers from invited schools were also present to share their views with the panelists.

One particularly hot topic was the streaming of the arts and sciences here, and the relatively “low status” of Arts students in schools.

Quite a few students stood up to voice their dismay over the way Arts subjects such as Literature and History were seen to be of less value compared to the sciences.

“It’s a sad state of affairs, as the liberal arts are important in developing students’ thinking and creativity,” said one student.

Commenting on the issue, Devinia said: “Our solution is to give more flexibility to students in choosing their subjects, but we don’t know if the ministry is ready to overhaul the whole system just yet.”

Meanwhile, Duncan expressed his shock at the emphasis of examinations, as his own education placed equal importance on school-based assessments.

“The other problem we found was the rigid nature of the examinations themselves, to the point where students will be marked wrong if they don’t use a particular phrase to the letter!

“What would be more effective is to set questions that can elicit creative and analytical responses, instead of forcing students to rely on rote-learning,” he added.

The next leg of the project will commence in June, where the student teams will meet in Australia. They will conduct an interview with Australian Education Minister Julia Gillard, and attend a forum at the National Press Club of Australia.

For more information on the project, and to read the participants’ own accounts of their journey, visit www.talkbackclassroom.com.au.