Are two heads better than one?

A new plan to have two teachers in a class, with a new multi-discipline subject, sounds like a good plan. But are our teachers really up to it, given our education system?

IT was probably the most tragic story to come out of a school this year.

There have been many tragedies – bullying, deaths due to falls from up high, and even a recent brutal stabbing – but this was the saddest tale, for me at least.

It was the heartbreaking cry of a teacher.

“At least, try,” he implored. Three words that spoke of despair, of a man who was pleading after losing almost all hope.

The English language teacher, identified as Huzaid, had been looking at the results of his Form One students. One of them scored nine out of 100, the other had five.

And a third had zero. Yes, zero.

How do you get zero in an English exam? A simple correct sentence would have warranted a mark or two.

That fat round zero sums up all that has gone wrong with our education system, and the years of neglect the English language has faced.

For too long we have had politicians screaming about the importance of the national language, all the while forcibly downplaying English.

Add to that the scrapping of real exams – those that serve as wake-up calls for both students and teachers – and you have all the hallmarks of a nation heading towards disaster.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m not fit to be an English teacher,” lamented Huzaid.

I don’t know about his abilities either but we know he cares, which is more than can be said about those politicians.

Let’s get one thing clear first. I am not putting down the national language. Bahasa Malaysia is the vital lifeblood that keeps the country together, but English is what gives our children access to greater knowledge from around the world.

Science, maths, technology and, of course, artificial intelligence are the future of the world – and all of them require English. We cannot stress the need for the language enough.

The Prime Minister has said it was unacceptable that Malaysians are not proficient in the national language. True. But he also acknowledged that English is “too critical and important for the nation” to be treated with disdain.

If our children get their basics right in both languages – it is usually easy for children whose brains are like sponges – doors will open.

That’s what the education system should be about.

Instead, it has been used as a political playground, with only one ride – a vicious roller coaster that hurtles further and further down.

First, English was downplayed. As more of our electorate became weaker in English, more politicians pandered to that growing vote bank by making the language even less important, talking up the need for BM.

And the students become even weaker. After all these years, there is no upswing for that roller coaster.

The Education Ministry now has a plan to turn things around – two teachers in a class.

As one teaches, the other watches. And if any student shows signs of not understanding, the second teacher swoops in to help, ensuring students keep pace.

It sounds like a good plan. But it’s like food at a Malaysian restaurant. What looks good may not really be that good.

The big question is: Do we have the teachers to do the job?

It must not be a case of two people doing the job of one. Already, our civil service is bloated, with some saying there are four times more staff than needed. The teaching profession does not need the same dubious accolade.

And any such move should apply to all schools, not just some privileged ones.

There are about 8,000 primary schools in the country and even if only one subject gets two teachers, that’s an additional 8,000 teachers we need.

Do we have enough? More importantly, will these teachers be of the right quality?

It makes no difference if you have two or four teachers in a classroom – what matters is having good teachers, those who care. The best brains need to be teaching.

There is an old saying: Those who know, do; those who don’t, teach. It’s something that may hold true in Malaysia.

The teaching profession is often seen as the last resort by students who fail to get in elsewhere.

Yes, the government has set some exacting standards. To become a teacher in a primary school, one needs 5As in SPM to be enrolled in the Institute of Teacher Education.

The catch is, the As can be in any subject. In Bahasa Malaysia, English and History, the applicant only needs to have credits. The bar really should be set higher so we get top-class teachers for our youngest children.

Take Finland, which was among the first to implement the two-teacher system. All teachers there are required to hold a master’s degree in education.

Even then, they continue to learn. The teachers engage in workshops, peer observations, and collaborative learning sessions to refine their skills.

They make important decisions about lesson planning, teaching methods, and student assessment, and they do it in a group.

And these are teachers in primary schools.

Can our teachers, already bogged down with all sorts of paperwork, come anywhere close to the Finns? Or even Singapore, which has taken a leaf from the Finnish playbook?

Then, there is this new subject called Alam dan Manusia, which will be the pilot for the two-teacher model.

According to the Education Ministry, it will comprise multiple disciplines – science, health education, music, visual arts, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and digital literacy.

All these will be taught in a class with a tag-team of teachers. Can these two teachers cram all that learning into one class? And how many hours are going into this subject?

Shouldn’t subjects like science, TVET, and even digital literacy be emphasised instead of being lumped together with music and visual arts?

There are already so many things wrong with our schools these days – gangsterism, sexual liaisons, bullying, suicides, even murder. We really need to change things.

To that end, teachers are all-important. We need those who can make school fun, interesting and vibrant, a place students want to go to.

The future of our children, no, the future of our nation is at stake.