I had wondered why the United Examinations Certificate (UEC) of Malaysia shared similarities with Taiwan's secondary school education. Now I know because it was actually based on Taiwan's curriculum in the 1970s. However, what's surprising is that the curriculum had not changed in 40 years (really?). Here is the article which I got the information and wanted to share my opinion on: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/27/dong-zong-pressured-to-reform-curriculum-groups-want-chinese-schools-to-keep-up-with-the-times-with/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter (From The Star Online)
[The one in question, UEC]
UEC has its own merit compared to public secondary schools in Malaysia. The superiority in mathematics of UEC students is what I looked up upon. Generally speaking, 5-7 years of education in public institutions (SPM and STPM) is definitely incomparable with 6 years in UEC. Usually students graduated from SPM will need extra 1 to 2 years of pre-university courses in order to fully cope with university syllabus, while UEC students does not need to as they had achieved enough within the 6 years.
However, when I saw that UEC is based on Taiwan's education curriculum in the 1970s, I was prepared to say: "You gotta change it". This is because Taiwanese education that time was a more nationalist based education, the ideas and concepts were not suitable for Malaysians. Emphasis on Chinese history compared to Malaysian history were given even in UEC, causing students not fully understand Malaysia's history while excel in Chinese history. When in Rome, do as the Romans do; it is odd for not studying Malaysian history while in Malaysia. I do study Taiwan's history while I am in Taiwan (and I am still now), for research purposes actually.
In addition, UEC must adapt to Malaysians society and norms. UEC had failed to gain recognition from Malaysian government because it refused to change its medium into Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysia's national language), causing students graduated from UEC cannot enter public universities and cause long going disgruntles among Malaysian Chinese (and politicized). I think that both sides should practice diplomacy in the recognition of UEC. Malaysian government should allow the medium of instruction to be continued in Chinese and not interfering much in UEC's curriculum system whereas UEC should undergo reforms to adapt their curriculum to Malaysia's system, giving certain priorities in Bahasa Malaysia in the process. Only when these two parties compromised, UEC can be recognized, allowing high quality students to enter local universities, improving the competitiveness of Malaysian universities.
[The sad case of PPSMI]
I hailed from one of the best public secondary school in Malaysia (or that's what they claimed), and I was lucky to be in the PPSMI era where English was used for teaching of science and mathematics. I think that PPSMI is a good system because it had helped me (and I am sure many others as well) adapt to university life (when I was still in Department of Chemistry) easily. I had also gained some upper hand in reading materials in English, which most of my Taiwanese friends failed. However, since PPSMI was a new system during my time, many students who are not familiar with English can't adapt to the teaching. Even the teachers who had taught science and math had a hard time because they were used to teach in Bahasa Malaysia and can't adapt to it. This is quite a sad case because PPSMI was scrapped a few years after I graduated from pre-university as the lack of qualified teachers and the lack of student interest from students had caused it to fail. I think that PPSMI was implemented too soon and hastily, hence causing the whole system to collapes. Every reform takes time, especially in education. If an education system works well and it will help future generations, I think that it should be continued or do prior investments before fully implementing the system.
[Lets talk about Taiwan]
As mentioned above, Taiwan's education curriculum was more of a nationalist education in 1970s but a lot had changed since then. The so called 'nationalist' education was due to the hope of a certain party to regain China and not focused on Taiwan itself. In addition, Taiwan was under martial law in that time, limiting the freedom of speech, causing people who advocated for a more liberal education to fail. However, many had changed after the martial law was lifted in 1987 and education reforms in Taiwan started in 1990s.
I am still researching on this topic but apparently the 1990s reform is a failure. In my personal opinion, I think that Taiwan's education had became more liberal but there were too many loopholes. Students were exposed to the world beyond China and globalization had started since then, which is a positive effect. However the education system that time (maybe even now) was a highly exam oriented education, caused students lacking soft skills. Moreover, the examination system in Taiwan is also very complex, especially university entrance exams (from what I know there are two), causing unfairness in university entrance.
The vice-presidential debate yesterday (26th December 2015) had proved that education is a hot topic. Candidates from different parties had attacked each other over education issues. KMT was blamed for the 22k policy of fresh graduates; Chen from DPP was attacked over the education reform in 1990s as he played some role in it; whereas Hsu from PFP had questioned about quality vs quantity of university graduates. It proved that reforms were needed soon and fast.
[More English please.....]
The education of English language both in Malaysia and Taiwan is something which I would love to criticize.
Lets start with Malaysia, my motherland. English is a must pass subject in SPM examinations and it is even a requirement in university entrance in Malaysia. Overall, I think that Malaysians have good English standards but not competitive enough in the world. The case of teaching of English (and teaching some subjects in English) were highly affected by racial ultras who want to protect their own native tongue. They regard their own mother tongue as the most superior and like what I said about, when in Rome do as the Romans do, so you will need to use your own mother tongue in teaching. However, the idea sacrificing global competitiveness for nationalism is not a wise move as communications with the world require a lingua franca, and sometimes our mother tongue is not one of the lingua franca. In addition, when in universities, most high quality reading materials are in English, an early exposure of students to English will allow students to save time for studying or researching. English is also a must when you want your ideas to be presented globally. Hence I do hope that Malaysia will revert back to PPSMI while not sacrificing their mother tongue, which is hard but plausible.
After living in Taiwan for 4.5 years, I think that Taiwanese had quite a good level of English (which I had always told my Taiwanese friends). From what I heard, English was taught in primary and secondary schools in Taiwan, even in universities (at least in mine), it is a core subject that all students must pass. Furthermore, a proof of English proficiency is needed to graduate from my university. This shows that Taiwan regards the importance of English. However, there are some issues regarding the teaching of English in Taiwan. Taiwanese students study English just for exams and proof of proficiency, not for daily applications. Some of my friends had said that in their high school, they only learn English words by words and all they need to do is to memorize the meanings of those words. This will be good enough for minimum proficiency, I do agree, but to achieve global competitiveness, they must know how to apply it. The lack of application (writing and speaking) had caused Taiwanese university students to suffer from degradation of English in their university time, causing them to struggle when English medium were used in teaching and they need Chinese translated medium to help them. Moreover, some Taiwanese are shy to talk to foreigners in English as they are worried that the words they used are inappropriate or wrong, which is a wrong concern. This shows that the current method of English teaching is a failed one. I would suggest a more intensive coverage of English for all levels of education institutions in Taiwan.
[Conclusion]
Reforms in education are quite hard and complex, because it was affected by country politics directly. However, reforms are needed to produce future generations who are competitive domestically and internationally, making their country a better one. I am quite positive that education reforms will happen in Taiwan starting next year, but for UEC it may take time. I also do hope that Malaysia and Taiwan can emphasize on English education as well, for the development of their own country.
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