The “shocking” decline in Malaysia’s education standards, as indicated in the report of a global study, cries out for solutions, said the Sarawak DAP.

chong chieng jen interview 141108 01Its chairperson Chong Chieng Jen called for a royal commission of inquiry to be set up toward this, also suggesting the “revival” of the mission-school system that had been known for high education standards.

He was referring to the outcome of the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessments (Pisa), which placed Malaysia 52nd out of 65 countries.

Malaysian students were ranked behind Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand in Southeast Asia, while scores obtained in mathematics, reading and science were below those of countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Malaysians have also fared badly in the Trends in International Maths and Science Study, leading to a fall in the country’s showing in mathematics and science.

“The federal government is using education to propagate the BN’s political agenda, such as making History a compulsory subject, abolishing the teaching of science in English, and the proposal to increase teaching periods for Bahasa Malaysia even in Chinese schools,” Chong noted.

“If we want to stop this downward trend in the standard of maths and science, the first thing to do is to take out politics out of the education policy.”

Chong said the students may do well locally but that they will not be able to compete on the global stage.

“The long-tern impact would be that we cannot compete internationally in trade and business ... and our country will go backwards,” he added.

The writer, who uses a pseudonym, is based in Sarawak.