How Has Malaysian Education System Affected Me

I have been under the nurture, under the umbrella of the Malaysian Education System for a total of 11 years. There are lots of views and controversies regarding the Malaysian Education System. Change of syllabus, format, grading, science in English, etc… Heck those stuffs first. Crucially, how has it shaped me today?

Outcomes :-
1) I’ve become more attracted to 1 objective answer, though it can be explained in 3-4 ways in several perspectives.

WHY : The Malaysian Examination has an answer scheme, and since teachers were instructed to follow the scheme close to 90%, if you don’t write similar to what it is said on the scheme, then off you go!

2) Now i am in college, and i can’t apply what i have learnt before.

WHY : It is very exam orientated. We can even predict the types of question coming out for the exam. So what? I focused only on those types of question, solving it without understanding why and how to apply it other place.

3) It was too late when i realized the importance of English

WHY : The Malaysia English subject is dead simple. My seniors used to brag about the toughness of the so called 1119 English. What’s so scary? It’s just a course code! What is so unique about 1119? Well they only marked your essay in a much more focused and special style, and your mark is released. I did heard some old teachers mentioned that 1119 used to be something that students will have to do aural and stuff. And now my college lecturers proudly proclaim that the High school public examination of English is a complete joke!

4) No realization of potential and interest

WHY : The only reason why i enrolled into pure science when i was form 1 ( the beginning of high school ) was only because everybody said that more universities would accept you. Apart from that, people tend to treat science student as a more prominent one. Well as i enrolled as one, the electives are Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. I would not say that i hate those sciences, but i just can’t see my potential or interest coming. Okay, the Malaysian Education does offer several core subjects like the Malay Language, English, Moral, History, Modern Mathematics, and English for Science and Technology, but it isn’t general enough to lead someone to their interest. I mean how can a 12 year old boy decides what he really loves/likes/wants? The core should touch on the general topic of most other subject out there to give a taste to a student, thus stimulating their interest if it hits right on the money, and not just emphasizing on these few.

5) Grades really matter!

WHY : Till today, i am still concerned bout my university grade as it is the root towards the final CGPA and also for other university application. The only problem with Malaysian Education grade is … though i know i am not good in a particular subject, i can get an A and sometimes even when i am confident with it, i can get a lower than A. I guess its because of the Binomial Distribution Theorem which the Examination Syndicate embraces. I am interested in computers, but i didn’t want to take the Information Technology paper for my SPM (High school certificate examination) because i know only a handful of students actually take that subject. As a result of that, it is harder to score an A which will in the end affect my scholarship application. Like i said earlier, grades really matter, without good grades, you end up no where, not even in public universities because the emphasis on grade is sky high!