Stop Nibbling At The Current Education Ecosystem!
Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Opinion - Bacalah Malaysia
October 12, 2024
It looks like the desperation besetting our education system for ages on end may be about to disappear.
There seems to be a dim light at the end of the tunnel when the education minister boldly proclaimed that students are not mere “laboratory rats.”
Although this metaphor can be interpreted in various ways, the fact that humans cannot be compared to “animals” of any kind is a very important realisation.
To regard students as experimental creatures, draw yet another line between being human as compared to animals per se. In other words, it goes beyond the basic animal instinct of sheer (economic) survival at the expense of the higher purpose of human existence that no animal needs to worry about!
Hence, the law of the jungle rules supreme where might and the number games supercede virtually everything, pushing the vulnerable to the brink of extinction repeatedly.
Today is tuition fees, tomorrow something else. Mostly dehumanising. It is all about the survival of the fittest, by hook or crook, thrusting humanity back deep into the crude animal kingdom!
In other words, when humans are left to their own devices, without the innate human values and dignity, the tendency to treat other fellow humans as animals increases over time.
The word “experimental” becomes real where humans are subjected to a variety of inhuman, and inhumane, treatments, exploitation and oppression. Stories on (neo-)colonialism are full with such injustices and injuries leading to infamous genocides as late as last year. Even among the most “educated!”
It continues to rage on through cultural domination and values subjugation that lasted forever as the “experimentation” proceeds endlessly.
The “laboratory” evolves from a simple, practical idea to illustrate “living” concepts to very complicated routines carved under the acronym: STEM which is machine-like devoid of human values, dignity and consciousness! It is now a global business.
Quite glaringly, STEM needs to be humanised into STEAM where ‘A’ represents the Arts and also Aesthetics providing for a more inclusive and transdisciplinary approach to the subject. Hence, bringing it closer to solving real world (human) problems in more holistic and culturally integrated ways.
In other instances, ‘E’ is translated as ‘Ethics,’ and ‘M’ as ‘Management’ – a combination that speaks about governance in ensuring a human-centric outcome, not necessarily measured by numbers and KPIs!
The Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan (FPK, National Education Philosophy) is clear about this when it categorically mentioned about a balanced and harmonious human person (viz., “insan sejahtera”) as the ultimate outcome of education (that is, “pendidikan” not “latihan,” “kemahiran,” or “pertukangan” – training, skilling and artisanship respectively).
More specifically, it is about acquiring “kesejahteraan diri” giving birth to “insan sejahtera” who will make the future as consciously educated persons.
If at all there are labs, there will be “living labs” whereby since time immemorial humans are innately creative enough to educate themselves in arriving at where they are today, collectively. Despite the many challenges!
It is only with the evolution of schools into factory-like during the industrial revolution that the “labs” were transformed to produce more lifeless human “products” mimicking the real factories in meeting the industrial marketability standards and the related KPIs through the various “industrialised experimentation” modules sans authentic human values (read, exploitation).
The current issue seems to be about this, whether to bring back the previously “cancelled” examination systems or otherwise.
What is interesting to observe is that it is almost a debate between the real professionals and those with pseudo-professional credentials, often the cause of distortions of the FPK and derailing of education the way it is today.
Due to the ‘rat-mindedness’ that tends to view everybody as “rats” for some forms of rat-race (real or imagine), they arrogantly attempted to “perfect” the pumpkin as best described in a well known Malay axiom: (poli)tikus membaiki labu!
Ceaselessly, interfering with superficial sloganeering, flip-flopping decisions based on what is called “alternative facts” often used to justify the lies and rhetoric that politicians, like Donald Trump, create for their own survival.
Reportedly, this has happened over 30,000 times during his presidency. Ranging from the use disinfectant to combat Covid-19 pandemic to several other wild ideas to make America Great Again!
What with the new “worry” that young people these days are allegedly slower than previous generations to achieve the traditional markers of adulthood such “alternative facts” seem to have a huge stranglehold.
For example, kidult is becoming more relevant today referring to those who resist or avoid the responsibilities and challenges with adulthood.
Instead, opting to remain in a state of emotional and psychological immaturity that they are comfortable with amidst the daunting spread of mental health among the younger generations.
Thanks to the “rats” that have been nibbling on the education system resulting in the failure to prepare students for the academic world, now we also see increasing failure in preparing for their life itself!
As the “rat-minded” persons keep on insisting to perfecting the pumpkin (labu), they diminished figuratively the light at the end of the tunnel, risking the darkness that all rats love to be in, nibbling for their own survival. Unfortunately, this where we are in today. – BACALAHMALAYSIA.MY
- The writer is former Rector of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)