Decision taxing on students – BorneoPost Online
by Lian Cheng & Peter Boon, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on August 28, 2012, Tuesday
Public fret over ministry’s move to make History a compulsory pass subject
Edwin Jemat
The decision was reported by a national Chinese daily yesterday and a survey on the reaction to the news by The Borneo Post showed that there were fears that another compulsory subject might be too taxing on students and teachers.
Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) president William Ghani Bina said it was unfair for the ministry to implement the decision without giving notice to schools and teachers unions without consulting them.
He added such a serious educational issue should have gone through a consultative process involving academicians, educationalists, historians and teachers and politicians should not be involved in it.
Ghani disclosed that STU had not received notification on the change.
“There are now so many compulsory subjects – Bahasa Malaysia, English Language, Science and Mathematics, this is an additional burden to our students.”
He pointed out adding History to the present list of compulsory pass subjects for public examination would make the nation’s education even more examination oriented.
“Our education should focus on learning, like that of developed nations and not on passing exams.”
Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar when contacted said making History a compulsory pass subject was to inculcate patriotism among the young generation.
“The younger generations now have no knowledge on how independence was achieved and they have been taking things for granted.
“However, it is too drastic to make History a compulsory passing subject just because of that. The subject should be made compulsory for all students but not a compulsory passing subject.
“It should be taught to them with the positive aim of making them understand the country better rather than penalising them for not excelling in the subject,” said the Santubong MP.
Meanwhile, Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How questioned the sustainability of making history a compulsory pass subject for SPM students.
“Over the years, the Education Ministry has been making changes every now and then, showing much inconsistency. We are just wondering how long this change will last,” said See.
His main concern was the increased burden on students and teachers in coping with another compulsory subject.
“Certainly, once the subject is made compulsory, it will affect the performance of the students as there are also other subjects they have to pass to get a full SPM certificate,” said See.
Retired teacher Edwin Jemat was more concerned about the content of history syllabus.
“The Malaysian history now consisted mainly of the history of Peninsular Malaysia while the history of Sarawak and Sabah has been sidelined.
“What the Education Ministry needs to do first is to give a fair share to Sarawak and Sabah in the nation’s history before talking about making it a compulsory subject to pass SPM,” said Jemat.
In Sibu, academician Felician Teo said making history a compulsory pass subject in SPM was to make our youth understand the spirit and solidarity of nationhood and that it was good for national unity.
However, he felt making passing the subject one of the pre-requisites to obtain a SPM certificate was too extreme and would add extra pressure on students and teachers.
University lecturer Dr Ting Chek Ming said he did not agree with making history a compulsory pass subject in SPM.
He hoped the decision was not politically motivated.
“Our children are exposed to the subject from Form One till Form Five. But history is not a survival skill as such. In the wake of globalisation, they should be exposed more to English language.
“We need history but not to such an extent as to make it a compulsory pass subject,” Dr Ting said.
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