Sim Kwang Yang
Sep 22, 07 11:45am
In the last years of his tenure as prime minister, Dr Mahathir
Mohamad must have realised that there is such a thing as too much
nationalism. Without nationwide consultation, without any penetrating
studies by experts, and certainly without seeking opinions from
parents, teachers, and students, his government decreed overnight
that Math and Science must be taught in English.
Not a note of protest was heard from the Malay teachers association,
and other usually irascible Malay nationalist bodies.
The move was an open admission that the exclusive emphasis on Bahasa
Malaysia in schools and universities has failed to produce globally
competitive human resources. Dr M may have been a giant figure in the
short history of Malaysia, and has been instrumental in shaping the
political landscape of our country. But his brand of Malay
nationalism in the matter of the national language has victimised
many generations of young Malaysians in developing their potentials
in more ways than one.
The first casualty of this language policy has been the academic
standard of our local universities. In the 80s, I used to be invited
to student forums in local universities, in my capacity as an
opposition MP. Representatives from other political parties were also
invited, bit it seemed these talks generally degenerated into a BN
bashing session by students of all races.
After one such session, the moderator of the talk who happened to be
the dean of one faculty told me aside on the quiet that the
performance of his students had declined over the years, partly
because they were illiterate in English and could not read
international journals and reference books.
(He also told me that he and other university lecturers were
compelled to mark the students on a curve, so that those Malay
students who failed will be given a pass mark anyway! But that is an
open secret.)
Publish or perish
Those who are acquainted with the unwritten rules of the academia
know that academic standard is subject to international scrutiny. An
academician has to publish or perish. It is very difficult for a
professor to obtain the security of tenure if his original
composition or research findings are not published in prestigious
international journals. Better still, he can publish an authoritative
book, which soon becomes a best seller and a university text book
everywhere.
The idea is that one of the essential roles of the university is the
production of new knowledge through research. The findings of
research must then be published to allow the world academic community
to test and evaluate the research results. Only when it is so
verified can the new theory or findings be accepted as orthodox truth.
Naturally, students - especially those in senior years and in
graduate programmes (or "post-graduate" programmes, as they are
called in British universities) - must refer to an enormous amount of
journals, reference books, and related research materials, in order
to master their area of specialisation.
Invariably, their thesis must contain a great number of quotations
from authoritative sources, footnotes, and a lengthy bibliography. In
conclusion, the thesis writer is supposed to come to his own theory
or perspective, by engaging himself in a debate with all the
authorities, and synthesising all contentious stands into a
harmonious view entirely his own.
Then, the graduate is qualified to pursue an academic career, as a
professor, an assistant professor, or a humble lecturer. This is that
original signification of the term "professor", as one who professes
his own theory through some kind of publication. His academic worth
is often determined by how often he is quoted by other books and
publication. The standing of a university is also determined partly
by how many such professors they have on their faculty.
Though I do not have the figures, I suspect that most academic and
professional journals in the world are published in English. If our
universities are such that English literacy is lacking, we will be
producing graduates who are intellectually like frogs under the
coconut shell, no matter how fluent they are in the national language.
Perhaps the problem lies with the philosophy of education determined
by the government in the first place.
Academic freedom
The idea of the Western university evolved very much after the model
of Plato's Academy. Plato's model was shaped very much by his
philosophy of searching for truth and knowledge as its own end, and
not as a means to an end. It was meant to be a community of scholars
living in close proximity, a refuge free from the power play of the
outside world.
Plato's Academy continued in Europe even after the fall of Athens at
the hands of Alexander the Great from Macedonia and the rise of the
Roman Empire later. The last Academy was finally closed down by the
Byzantine Emperor Justinian in AD 529 because of religious bigotry on
his part.
That is why an institution of higher learning has to enjoy academic
freedom, because without the freedom of thought and speech, there can
never be truth with a capital "T".
Thirty years ago, I did study philosophy in a small university, the
University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Unlike Malaysia, the
Winnipeg university came under the purview, and was funded by the
provincial government of Manitoba. The unranked university was
administered by a University Senate made up almost entirely of
faculty members, and 12 student representatives. I served as a
student senator for a couple of years, sitting on several committees
like the one in charge of admission of foreign students.
Many of those liberal arts colleges and universities in the West are
run on the assumption that the most important people in a higher
institution of learning are the teachers and the students, and they
should be given a big say in all things in the administration of the
campus.
One year, the provincial government of Manitoba proposed a raise in
tuition fees. The student union organised a demonstration, marching
down from the campus to the state legislature downtown peacefully in
protest, with professors marching with them in support. The proposal
was withdrawn. If such a march happens in Malaysia, the police, the
FRU, and the water cannons will arrive in full force to quash the
"riot"!
The comparison may not be all that fair. As an important institution,
like all other political, social and economic institutions, the
university takes even centuries to mature. We are but a young nation
on the world stage.
I can actually understand how, during the early uncertain years of
independence, the university was seen as a powerful political tool
for nation building. Much stock was placed on the university as a
symbol of independence. Since education tends to be the quickest way
towards social upward mobility, the eradication of poverty and the
lifting of the socio-economic position of the Malays and other native
communities must indeed depend on a tilted policy on university
education.
Nearly half a century of experiment with our own tertiary education
later, in the context of a rapidly changing world, the glaring
negative impacts of our university education are legion.
Send them overseas
Naturally, in all universities, you get the small percentage of the
cream of the crop who would do well anywhere in the world. The bulk
of the university student population though are just glorified super
secondary scholars in terms of their intellectual achievement.
(I had the chance to interview some graduates who were certified to
teach English as a second language. Upon my request, they could not
name even one prominent writer of English literature!)
What ails our universities is more than evident when it comes to the
employability of their products. Tens of thousands of fresh graduates
cannot find a decent job after graduation. They have to be re-trained
at great public expense in order for them to find their place in
society. If you ask me, it is this training mentality that forms the
bedrock of our philosophy of education which stunt students' growth.
Finally, the government is making some noise about creating "apex
universities". There is some welcome talk about academic freedom,
financial independence, and campus autonomy. So far, what little
public discussion there is on the proposal borders on the
superficial. We are indeed a Third-world nation. But the discussion
is better late and superficial than never.
Blame me for being pessimistic, negative, and cynical. As long as
Umno is in power, and they seem determined to do so for the next half
century, no meaningful reform on our tertiary education system will
arrive at our shores. There will be too much politics and too much
vested interests in the way of moving our nation forward in matters
of education. All this talk about making Malaysia the educational hub
of the region is only marketing language to be taken with a giant
block of salt.
My advice for my friends who have children contemplating university
education has always been this: send them overseas!
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