The government cannot continue treating university students like children by imposing compulsory subjects on them, says former New Era College principal Kua Kia Soong.

"It is not convincing to tell us that this has been a compulsory subject in public sector institutions for years since our public institutions are hardly an advertisement for creative and critical thinking.

"Tertiary-level students are not empty vessels that you can pour compulsory subjects such as Malaysian Studies (MS) and the Islamic and Asian Civilisation Studies (Titas), hoping that this will 'mould' them into 'loyal' and 'moral' patriots," Kua said in a statement today.

 

NONE Kua ( left ), who is now Suaram adviser, said even when he was principal, such subjects were already offered at his institution but were not forced upon students.

He said students should be encouraged to think, investigate and be communicative in preparing them to be creative, critical and resourceful but imposing was not the way to go.

"Strategies for developing these abilities can be built into the curriculum of the tertiary educational institution but should not be imposed on tertiary-level students as if they are children," he said.

'Flexible teaching'

Kua said even in the case of the already compulsory MS, which he had taught before, he had not stuck to the syllabus outlined by the government.

"If I stuck to the syllabus prescribed by the ministry, I would have failed as an educationist.

"In fact, the school curricula in many enlightened and progressive education systems in the world are already designed along such lines - merely outlining the stated objectives of the course and allowing teachers full breadth to improvise and adapt and improve on the curriculum," he said.

 

As such, Kua said the focus should be on active learning by designing course syllabi that encourage students to learn through inquiry and develop autonomy as learners and researchers.

"Even more essential is the tutorial space for students and faculty to debate and discuss the humanities," he said.

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