THE results of the 2022 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exams (equivalent to GSCE or O-Level) were shocking. The grades that the 373,974 teenagers received hint of a scary future for Malaysia.

Fewer than 3% (10,109 students) scored straight As. More worryingly, tens of thousands of others obtained ordinary or weak grades.

What will happen to this multitude of young people who will not be able to further their studies with choice pathways that will provide the nation with the knowledge workers it requires?

The results reveal the real elephant in the room. We have repeatedly over the decades failed as a nation in building our future.

After 11 years of education at school, half the population may have failed to get a passport to further their education or provide the human capability that the nation needs for the future.

Just like the annual auditor general’s reports of repeated weaknesses - wastage, mismanagement, ‘leakages’, lack of accountability and irresponsible failures - students’ performance have been declining year after year.

Is there no one capable of mustering the courage and the intelligence to revamp our failed education system?

Or is this all part of a massive political plot to hold back our young from becoming high achievers and to keep them as failures and drop-outs?

In this age of rapid development around the world, it is not impossible for us to correct the countless wrongs in the education system and to provide the nation with the knowledge and skills it needs.

It is mind-boggling that after decades of concern and alarm, we continue to slide further.

Will our leaders ever admit that we have reached a disastrous juncture in the nation’s journey when many of our graduates and employable youth are unable to write well, let alone have the passion to read and speak well?

Despite all the slogans, despite the billions of public funds allocated, despite all the ethnic rights and privileges, we have a big zero to show for our education success. This is like a noose hanging around the neck of the nation’s future.

What will happen when this predictable social ‘disaster’ happens, when the cumulative millions of school failures fill the streets? - June 16, 2023

An ALIRAN member, JD Lovrenciear is a Kuala Lumpur-based writer, trainer and consultant who also offers his time to support initiatives to build a progressive society. The opinion editorial (under the same headline) first appeared on the ALIRAN portal. 

https://focusmalaysia.my/when-the-education-system-repeatedly-keeps-failing-the-nation/