Education Minister II Idris Jusoh’s claim that international student enrolment of about 135,000 and that it should be something that Malaysians ought to be proud off is akin to the saying of the one-eyed man in the land of the blind. Only in this case the facts and figures speak for themselves.Unwarranted and totally skewered, these numbers constitute students not from Germany, Britain and Australia but more from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Libya, Nigeria, Yemen, Iraq and Indonesia.A foreign student who seeks for education abroad will look at a few factors, namely the stability of the country, the quality of education, the weight of the degree, accreditation and recognition of the degree by his country and the cost of his education and the cost of living.With regard to the direction that the minister has taken, it is apt here to quote the fifth PM of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he diagnosed the condition of the country in 2003 with ‘First World Infrastructure, Third World Mentality’. Twelve years down the road and the situation is closer to the truth than ever.Whilst we appreciate Idris for articulating his argument on the Malaysian education system being ‘world class’ in his Facebook posting, unfortunately only he can make sense to the entire equation. He had used the argument of the number of foreign students flowing into the nation that is used as a yardstick of the academic excellence in Malaysia.
Perhaps the minister needs a crash course in interpreting figures and what they really mean.
In the top 100 World Reputation Rankings 2014 by Thomson Reuters, Harvard University tops at No 1, the University of Tokyo at No 11, and the National University of Singapore at No 21.
Malaysia, again, has no placement in this ranking which begs the question of why then do foreign students flock to Malaysia which has no ranking even in the top 100, outdone by countries like Australia, Germany and Britain which were countries cited by the minister that Malaysia holds a candle to.
Out of 100, universities from Japan had 20 placements, China with 18, South Korea with 14, Taiwan with 13, India with 10, Hong Kong with six, Turkey with five, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel with three each, Thailand two, and Lebanon with one.
Not only are our universities not reputable enough, which translates into compromised standards of excellence, but it is rather embarrassing that a minister can still continue to stick by his guns when Malaysia has no representatives in the top 100 of the Asia University Rankings, with Japan leading and Singapore in second place.
The minister takes pride in Malaysia’s achievements in an international study on scientific academics. Universities in Malaysia do not appear in the any of the six disciplines, namely clinical, pre-clinical health, life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities and engineering and technology by the 2014-2015 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Ill-informed on the real scenario?
One may wonder where he gets his statistics from but it does make one wonder whether he either shares the same advisers of the prime minister or he has been ill-informed on the real scenario in the country.
Whilst we take pride in world-class achievements of lecturers and students globally, there is still a firm iron grip of freedom of thought, speech, assembly, printed press and publication, and actions in institutions of higher learning.
In the past year, Malaysia became laughing stock again with outrageous charges of sedition against Universiti Malaya law lecturer Azmi Sharom and numerous charges of sedition, under the Universities and University Colleges Act and unlawful assembly against students, with threats of expulsion.
How do world class universities fit in a draconian system where the government is constantly on high alert for voices of dissent and launches selective persecution on those who voice out against them and the government of the day?
The answer is simple. No world class university can.
In essence, the standard of education in Malaysia has much room to improve but to say it is ‘world class’ is stretching the truth a bit too far and can be added to the long list of comments made by ministers that have propelled Malaysia to be once again, the centre of attention and laughing stock of the world.
Before the minister makes unfounded statements like this, he should perhaps start at the grassroots level by conducting a thorough audit on schools that are due to be built by the government but till now have been facing inexplicable postponements on top of postponements before making sweeping statements of ‘world-class’ education in Malaysia.
While one is entitled to his or her own opinion, one should not shoot oneself in the foot, again and again.
Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance – Plato
KASTHURI PATTO is member of Parliament for Batu Kawan and vice-chairperson of Penang DAP Wanita.
