REVIEW

Examination is a test of capacity and knowledge to determine a learner’s strength

and weakness necessary for academic adjustment and work life. Examinations is the

most practical way of assessment in education and students treat every exam

seriously. From my point of view, the learning process in the classroom is never

enough for the students anymore. It takes more than academia to survive in such a

stressful working environment. Some of the countries’ education system is

indeed facing problems in producing competent graduates to face the working world

if they rely solely on academic performance.

I know that due to societal pressure, the sole indicator of determining your

performance in the school is based on the results. For many innocent students not

only in Malaysia, education means scoring the test papers, acquiring more

knowledge for the exam, and of course, aiming for higher number of As! There is

a misconception that higher number of As indicates the person is smarter. For

example, parents and relatives like to compare their own children with the number of

As in result slip or how much salary they can make per month. Why are they making

us so stressed? I heard numerous comparisons throughout my schooling year (even

now). My mom did that by comparing my neighbors’ kids with me in SPM. With an

extra A in their result slip, she is assumed to be better. It is not because I am jealous

or anything (maybe I am ?), this should not be the way to gauge the students’ ability.

Would you expect Albert Einstein to be good in every subject while his expertise is

Physics? I believe his research ability would have suffered if he did that. This is the

problem with the parents. They do not utilize the talents of the children. The children

might be good in drawing, handcrafting, or sports. Instead, they put too much

emphasis to create Jack-of-all-trades students in term of academic examination.

When students are too exam-oriented, they are unable to utilize their talents by being

productive in their fields. Because after all, they just want more As in exam slips.

A desirable education system should nurture and develop human to the infinite

potential and responsibility. However, due to high stakes placed on summation of

examination there is undue emphasis on examinations. Teachers concentrate on

the cognitive domain equipping learners with knowledge and theoretical skills

through examination oriented teaching. As a result, education in secondary school

may fail to achieve goals such as promotion of self development and fulfillment,

promotion of social, economic, technological and industrial needs for national

development and provision of sound moral and religious values. An examination

oriented system fails to impart practical skills, desired values and attitudes in

learners. It is not known how examination teaching affects academic aspiration and

attitude to learning among students.

Days where teachers inspire were gone. Students are never appreciative with what

the inspiring teachers have done for them. They take everything for granted. Most

would complain about the teachers on they did not come to the class and finish the

syllabus. Again, syllabus!? It is the dedication of the teachers who can make a

difference. Besides, teachers are also responsible for some kind of programs in

school, for example development programs (such as extra-curricular activities).

These programs are usually deemed as wasting time by the students, unless they

are forced, only the 1 % highly motivated student leaders would volunteer to join

these programs. Because students are only taught that results are everything. The

result slip is the only pathway to go through your next level of education. Truth to be

told, they will only realize that the result slip is just an entrance to any level of

education, in secondary and tertiary education. After that, everything would start from

0. Why don’t I tell you everything would start from 0 after you land your first

employment? Imagine your 15 – 16 years of education becomes negligible after your

first job. Reality is hitting us hard, isn’t it? Therefore, inspiring teachers can really

mold the leaders that we can see at the top of corporate leaders.

Exams have bred a lucrative 'shadow education' industry through numerous tutorial

schools where students mainly learn exam tips rather than critical thinking and see

education merely as preparation for a career. Overcome by exhaustion from endless

homework assignments and continuous assessments, many students have lost

interest in matters outside their school subjects. Few teenagers question the reasons

for our huge wealth gap, even fewer consider themselves as being able to bring

some positive changes to our society.

Have you ever heard of teacher-centered learning? It is where the teachers would

talk and the students would listen. This kind of approach has made students who can

read and write well, but could not communicate with people around them. The

education system usually taught students to read and write first before they start to

talk. This approach is actually very bad. Have you ever wondered why you can speak

your native language so well? This is because you use the language in most

conversation. In my experience, I could not write English using bombastic words and

i;ve made a lot of mistakes in constructing sentences, but I could converse well with

my friends using English language. Many people find it weird because I can

listen/speak but I couldn’t read/write. Yes, these components are actually different

from each other. It must be improved part by part in order to improve your overall

proficiency. However, the approach of teaching students to read and write English

before they get to speak is way wrong. Before you get to speak, you must listen to

how others speak. Before you write a passage, you must read how others write.

Perhaps, I would suggest the government to start listening and oral tests in primary

school as part of the curriculum. Anyway, English is a lingua franca, but many

students are still reluctant to learn it. ‘I am not good in English’ is a merely excuse. I

find it funny because it has become an opening for many conversations. For me,

there is no good English, there is only understandable English. Even if you throw

bombastic words to me in a conversation, while I don’t understand it, I would not

think your English is good. Take your time by using common phrases in English.

Master them and I am sure you would be talking like a native speaker in the future.

For your information, I am taking Mandarin now. If I were to compare Mandarin and

English, I would say that English is much harder than English.

In a crunchy nutshell, education system in Malaysia certainly doesn’t prepare the

students to face the corporate life. Teachers must be able to inspire the students to

think out of the box. The students must not be left out for leadership role. They must

be given the freedom to utilize their real talents to contribute to the society. Number

of As shall not be the sole comparison to the quality of the students. By changing the

mindset of the young in the early stage, they would know their purpose to work on

what they want to contribute in the future. If the country is to take about education

excellence, it has to start with reformation in education first.