Human values and education

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
My View - The Sun Daily
February 9, 2016

ONE is often reminded of the story of the three bricklayers when it comes to understanding the big picture. It goes like this.

The first bricklayer when asked what he was doing, harshly responded that he was laying bricks! Period.

The second said that he was building a brick wall, giving it some sense of purpose.

The third, however, envisioned that he was creating a durable shelter for others. He understood the bigger picture and translated to realise it in terms of how others can benefit from his hard work.

In the context of education, the first case would correspond to those who merely seek academic credentials.

They would want to whizz though the system, regardless of its content and relevance. In fact the easier the better.

The end justifies the means. The second group do slightly better by linking the academic credentials to employment. Hence, indicating some preference in the choice of education. Our preoccupation seems to be locked at this phase.

The third group are more enlightened. They evoke the higher purpose of education as a means to uplift the well-being of others.

This is what is intended in the National Education Philosophy (NEP) when it states: "Education in Malaysia … is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards, and who are responsible and capable of achieving high levels of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the society, and the nation at large."

This is the ethos that is now utterly confused with the overemphasis on "utilitarian" (economic) aspects.

It becomes more obvious when the term "human capital" was somehow introduced as part of so-called "education" by a sleight of hand. This term has reframed how "education" should be delivered but it is misaligned with the spirit and aspiration of the NEP that states in no uncertain terms it is "an ongoing effort towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and physically balanced and harmonious, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God."

This contradiction cannot be better articulated by Fritzsimons in The Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory (1999) stating: "[i]n modern Human Capital Theory all human behaviour is based on the economic self-interest of individuals operating within freely competitive markets.

Other forms of behaviour are excluded or treated as distortions of the model." Some alleged this is part neo-liberalism.

At once, crucial key words and phrases in the NEP like "holistic," "balanced and harmonious", not to mention "based on a firm belief in and devotion to God" are all rendered meaningless.

So are those like "designed to produce Malaysian citizens", "possess high moral standards", and "being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the society, and the nation at large?" The consequences of which are very clear today.

Yet this obnoxious term is littered in so many education policy documents and pronouncements as though the NEP has been relegated to the dustbin.

Educationists too seem complacent with the "human capital" rhetoric, rarely, if at all, raising an objection to its (mis)use. There are "human capital" departments established at most universities and education-related institutions in the excitement to be trendy in replacing what used to be "human resource" (although there are those who had argued that humans cannot be reduced to just "resource" or "asset" which is again very material-centric).

Of late, fortunately, it is heartening to note that the minister of higher education and the key officials of the ministry are easing up on the reference to "human capital" in preference to "balance and harmonious humans" (insan yang seimbang dan harmonis) – at least as discerned from their speeches.

It highlighted the first shift in the Education Blueprint – Higher Education (2015-2025) that emphasises on being "holistic and balanced". After all, the blueprint is rooted on the NEP par excellence. There can be no room for "human capital" to take centre stage as the ultimate outcome of "education".

Otherwise as much as "human capital" is commoditised and traded (like modern slaves) so too is today's education being treated like a factory mass producing "human capital" with harrowing disparities.

Therefore the use and articulation of "human capital" can be likened to building brick walls – backed by the skills for just that – to merit "employment".

It misses the noble aspect of contributing or giving back to the family, community and nation, indeed the world at large as true human endeavours via education that act as a means and not just an end in itself.

Viewed in this way, "education" as we know it today has a skewed (if failing) worldview. One that is dehumanising.

It is no wonder that Stephen Hawking noted in his book, Grand Design, that humans are no more than biological machines, analogous to the idea of "human capital".

Given the obsession for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which is "rootless" (without deep human values and dignity) Hawking is spot on! Like it or not post-2020 Malaysia must return the human soul back to the basics of education so that we can be the holistic and balanced human being that we are intended to be.

With some four decades of experience in education locally and internationally, the writer believes that "another world is possible".