Lately there have been numerous interesting and heated debates about our education system. We also have read stories of our school children committing brutal crimes like rape and murder as well as getting involved in prostitution, black metal 'cult', gangsterism, theft, vandalism, extortion and a whole catalogue of other anti-social and illegal activities.

Whatever the flaws of the ruling government, one thing that we have to credit it for is the emphasis that it has given to the educational needs of the nation. This far-sighted policy has brought about prosperity for most and the relatively high quality of life that we enjoy now is directly attributable to this.

The education system that we inherited from the British and the one that we later enhanced further was very effective in educating and preparing our workforce to meet the human resource needs of the nation. Our teachers' training colleges were able to produce competent and dedicated teachers who did not just teach but educated and shaped our students. Our universities were among the best in the region and our physical educational infrastructure, at least in urban areas, was almost of First World standard. So where did we go wrong?

My views here are based on my own experience of being a student in a national-type primary school, later a national secondary school and finally a local university. I had a brief opportunity to teach in a national-type school and I took part in voluntary community services involving students and youths. I come from a family of teachers who had or still are serving in many different types of schools all over the country, from urban secondary schools to rural national-type primary schools.

The promotion of the national language as the language of integration meant that the English language had to take a backseat. English schools were soon converted to Bahasa Malaysia-medium schools. BM soon replaced English as the medium of instruction right up to university level.

The aim was noble, but while it does not have to be at the expense of English, it turned out that way. There were many narrow-minded teachers and education officers who actually detested English. With fanatical zeal they went out of their way to totally stamp out the use of English at schools, colleges and universities. We did not realise the problem until the new generation of students graduated and entered the job market. By then it was too late and whatever short-term measures we took only had a limited success, if at all.

Worse, under the KBSR, the new curriculum for primary schools introduced in early 1980s, the hours allocated to English language classes were reduced and the standard of the language was deliberately lowered, presumably to accommodate students from the rural areas who were performing poorly in the subject compared with those in urban areas.

Also, the quality of our English teachers; it is extremely important to ensure that only those with genuine interest and in possession of a sufficient level of proficiency in the language are allowed to be trained as English teachers. However, it appears that quantity rather than quality has taken precedence in the recruitment policy at teachers training colleges.

Policy makers are also the culprits where the lowering standards of science and mathematics are concerned. While the government was preaching the importance of science and technology, these policy makers actually went ahead and lowered the standard of the mathematics syllabus under KBSR.

It might come as a shock to many that the math paper for the Year Six UPSR examination (under the KBSR system) is actually much easier than the paper for Standard Five students under the old system. This means that the Year Six math today is equivalent to the old Standard Four math.

What is more shocking is that under this new syllabus there was no place for science as a standalone subject! Not only that, there were no geography, civics or even history subjects as well. All these subjects were merged into a ' rojak ' subject called 'Alam Dan Manusia' (nature and humans).

Naturally, all these changes were met with unanimous and strong opposition from teachers and concerned parents, but the mule-headed bureaucrats stuck to their guns refused to change. The teaching of science to primary school students only resumed this year in stages.

Increasing racial segregation is another blight in our education system. I had aired my opinion on this in 'A nation divided as never before' (Aug 16). The emergence and the popularity of the so-called Islamic kindergartens have also contributed to this problem. So too the declining popularity of the national schools and the increasing popularity of the vernacular schools.

The lack of creative thinking ability is not a problem peculiar to Malaysia alone, it is an 'East Asian disease' found even in the more economically advanced Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. The practice of rote learning and overboard emphasis on examinations do not encourage creative thinking.

Incidentally, it is a myth is that the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) is stifling the creativity of the local undergraduates. While the act has its debatable pros and cons, it certainly does not prevent creative thinking, unless it is pertaining to political matters.

Worsening discipline is another factor. There is no doubt that the level of discipline has descended to a level that is a cause for concern. If you think the media reports on this subject is worrying then you will be shocked if you had the opportunity to observe the situation at firsthand what is happening in our schools, especially those situated in the urban areas.

As much as it is worrying, this is a global phenomenon and the situation is much worse in more advanced countries. It is a product of our social environment and not the due to the deficiency in our education system. The current religious and moral education can and should be improved but without good parenting no system can produce responsible and law-abiding citizens by itself.

Teachers do have a responsibility in moulding students' characters and it is best done at the primary school stage. However, under the KBSR system, the teachers are saddled with so much administrative and non-teaching duties that they turn into instructors rather than educators. Also, many lack motivation, knowledge and the maturity to be true educators.

While there are fears for what our children might be exposed to, I would like to caution that young children are very impressible and they tend to imitate things that they had observed, just out of curiosity. So in the case of the primary school children caught indulging in oral sex at Taiping, it is wrong for us to assume that it was due to moral decay.

During my teaching stint I have seen things that were much worse and this was more than a decade ago. So it was very unfortunate that the media and that National Union of the Teaching Profession had sensationalised this incident.

In the early 1980s, we had the perfect opportunity to correct some of the weaknesses of the old education system and surge ahead of our neighbours, but our education policy makers and administrators squandered it. Not only have they wasted billions of ringgit but they also caused incalculable damage to the nation's human capital and economic competitiveness. A large part of the problem that we have inherited today is directly attributable to these incompetent and shortsighted policy makers and administrators. Although they are not the only reason for the sorry mess we are in, they are by far the biggest contributors.

The education policy of the nation is too valuable to be left in hands of these men and women. Education is an extremely important and strategic component in a nation's arsenal in surviving and thriving in this age of hyper competition. As such, the education policy has to be formulated with the greatest care and with the input from the whole spectrum of the society. The fate of the nation and our future generation hinges on this.