Concern over dropout issue

A MALAY daily recently revealed that 5.8% of Malaysians have not gone to school at all. The report was based on the findings of a survey conducted by the Department of Statistics Malaysia in 2019.

Furthermore, according to the study, 72.1% of Malaysians chose not to continue their studies after sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

These individuals are mostly from poor families, the Orang Asli community and in Sabah and Sarawak.

Poverty, loss of interest and the system’s focus on exams are the main reasons for dropping out. Children also felt alienated by the content of the curriculum and some failed to see the purpose of schooling. Parents were also not concerned about the education of their children.

The last comprehensive study on Malaysia’s school dropout rate was conducted in the early 1970s and the findings were published in the Murad Report of 1973.

In recent times, studies by Khazanah Research Institute in June 2020 (after the first movement control order was implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19) found that 77% of children were unable to participate in digital learning at home because of problems accessing online learning. During the Covid-19 pandemic, 21,316 students stopped schooling between March 2020 and July 2021.

The average years of schooling (years spent in formal education) in Malaysia has also decreased to 10 years. In comparison, Singapore’s is 12 years, Australia’s is 13 and the United Kingdom’s is 13. (Source: worldeconomics.com; figures for 2020)

By the way, the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB) 2013-2025 aims to increase compulsory schooling from six to 11 years by 2020.

Could the abolition of UPSR (Primary School Achievement Test) and PT3 (Form Three Assessment Examination) address the dropout numbers?

The replacement for PT3, i.e. school-based assessment (PBS), to determine students’ performance in their studies will be implemented at short notice. Would teachers be fully equipped to do objective classroom assessments? Would the extra responsibilities for teachers, who are already over-worked with their primary tasks, be manageable? What are the monitoring mechanisms?

Would there be instances where schools would try to achieve the bare minimum to maintain their level of academic performance and to eschew taking action if there is a decline?

There have been many systemic reforms in the education system, but these have not succeeded in improving the performance of the average students.

Worse still, we may have an educational crisis soon as many teachers are opting for early retirement. According to the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) in a statement issued on April 18, more than 10,000 teachers have been submitting their papers annually for early retirement over the last few years.

The five targets of the MEB (access, quality, equity, unity, and efficiency) are yet to be achieved. The Education Performance and Delivery Unit’s annual reports have highlighted some successes, but there is still room for improvement.

We need holistic reforms to raise the quality of education in our country. This includes increasing the budget allocation for education. In 2020, the amount spent on education was 3.92% of GDP. Compare this with 2012 when it was 5.74%.

In our push to achieve high-income status, we need more leaders with calibre and knowledge workers apart from capital. Schools and universities must produce graduates with critical thinking skills to become the leaders and knowledge workers needed to attain this status.

Meanwhile, a review should be conducted on the effectiveness of the Inspectorate of Schools and Quality Assurance (also known as Jemaah Nazir Dan Jaminan Kualiti), which carries out checks on educational institutions to ensure that they develop and maintain an adequate standard of teaching.

SALEH MOHAMMED

Kuala Lumpur