Again and again.......How many times?

How am I going to encourage my ex SPM students to study Form SIX? Please answer me, Mr. Minister of Education. Please don't give any lame excuses such as technical error. Shame on you MOE!

Chai Yee Lin, a straight-A scorer in the STPM, had been hoping to further her studies in medicine or dentistry in a local public university of her choice.The teenager was sorely disappointed when she found out that she was only offered a place in Universiti Malaysia Kelantan to do veterinary science.

"Yes, I did state veterinary science as one of the secondary courses in the admission form, but I was confident that with my good results, I could get medicine or dentistry," she said.

Adding salt to the wound, Chai, who was hoping to support her family, later learnt that  a friend with lower scores was offered dentistry at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

The MCA and MIC have voiced out the grievances of students, claiming that fewer Chinese and Indian students had secured places in universities this year.

The Straits TImes reported that university entry has been a long-standing issue in the country, where racial quotas, favouring Malays and other bumiputeras, were used to determine entry into public higher-learning institutions.

The quotas were removed in 2002, and entry is now up to the discretion of higher education authorities.

It was reported that MCA education bureau chairman Wee Ka Siong has refused to accept the explanation from the Education Ministry that the candidates were denied entry into universities due to a technical glitch.

"I cannot accept this silly explanation. It is grossly unfair to the students," he said in Wisma MCA after meeting 22 students and their families on Tuesday.

MIC national youth council member G Kalaicelvan said the party had also received several complaints from top Indian students who had failed to gain admission to the course of their choice.

"Most want to do medicine and their STPM results meet the requirement but somehow they do not get a place in the public universities," The Straits Times quoted him as saying.

More than 18,000 students had failed to get places in public institutions of higher learning although they had met the requirements, said Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan, urging them to appeal.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in acknowledging the issue, had tweeted, urging the disappointed students not to give up.

"I know some were disappointed to not get a place at uni, but don't give up. Will discuss at Cabinet this week how to best help these students," he said. - AFP, July 18, 2013.

Women make up 68% of Public Universities Intake

Women make up 68.02 per cent (28,280) of 41,573 applicants who gained admission to public institutions of higher learning (IPTAs) for the first degree in the 2013/2014 academic session.
They were chosen from 68,702 applicants, with 24,489 or 58.9 per cent of them from the science stream and 17,084 (41.1 per cent) from the arts stream, said Higher Education Department director-general Prof Datuk Morshidi Sirat.

He said 49 of the successful applicants were Orang Asli; 68 were physically challenged; and 1,515 were national and international athletes.

Morshidi said the IPTAs will issue formal offer letters to successful candidates beginning tomorrow.
He said 74.3 per cent or 30,903 of the successful candidates were Bumiputera, 19 per cent or 7,913, Chinese; 4.4 per cent or 1,824, Indians; and 2.3 per cent or 933 were from other ethnic groups.
Morshidi said 5,765 candidates were offered competitive courses, namely medicine (699), dentistry (119), pharmacy (260), law (385), chemical engineering (953), mechanical engineering (1,304), electrical and electronic engineering (1,122) and accounting (923).

The admission is based on the order of merit and selection of programmes in the universities applied for, he said, adding: "If the merit of a candidate is not so high and he applied for a competitive programme, it is unlikely that he [will be] offered the programme."
The status of applications can be checked at upu, jpt.utm, jpt.uum, jpt.unimas, jpt.ums from today, or by contacting the hotline 03-8870 6767, helpline 03-8870 6777, general line 03-8870 6755/6766 or by texting UPU RESULT (IC no) to 15888.

"Successful candidates must confirm acceptance within 10 days of the offer, on or before July 21. Letters of offer and confirmation can be printed from the IPTA website," he said.
Candidates can also go to the Student Admission Management Division, Higher Education Department in Presint 5, to check the status of their applications from today until July 21.
Unsuccessful candidates can file an appeal online within 10 days through e-Rayuan at upu.mohe.gov.my starting today, until midnight on July 21.
Morshidi said appeals are subject to availability of places and would be deemed unsuccessful if no reply came from the IPTA concerned by Sept 30.
Registration of the new intake will be held on Sept 1 and 2, he added. - Bernama, July 11, 2013.

 

Please Don't Intimidate Teacher......

Jangan ugut kami untuk undi kamu, kata NUTP

Guru-guru tidak seharusnya “diintimidasi atau diperas ugut" untuk mengundi mana-mana parti politik kata Kesatuan Perkhidmatan Perguruan Kebangsaan (NUTP) mengingatkan parti-parti politik.

Presidennya Hashim Adnan mengatakan ini sebagai respon kepada Menteri Pendidikan II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh yang menggesa guru-guru untuk mengundi Barisan Nasional (BN) dalam pilihan raya kecil (PRK) akan datang sebagai melahirkan rasa terima kasih kepada kerajaan.

“Guru-guru boleh mengundi sesiapa yang mereka mahu. Saya tidak akan menuntut atau memaksa guru-guru untuk mengundi Barisan Nasional,” kata Hashim kepada The Malaysian Insider hari ini.

Beliau menambah: “Jika mereka gembira dengan apa yang diterima dan jika mahu mereka (BN) terus berkhidmat kerana telah melaksanakan tanggungjawab dengan baik, mereka boleh mengundi BN.

“Semuanya terpulang kepada mereka. Mereka tidak seharusnya diintimidasi atau diperas ugut.”

Hashim mengatakan kerajaan tidak seharusnya mengambil mudah terhadap guru-guru.

“Apabila anda terlalu lama berkuasa, adalah normal untuk membuat gesaan seperti itu... sudah menjadi kebiasaan orang dijawatan seperti itu akan lakukan,” tambah beliau, akan tetapi memberi amaran kedua-dua pihak agar tidak membuli guru-guru untuk mengundi mereka.

Semalam Idris berkata undi kepada BN adalah bagi melahirkan rasa terima kasih kepada kerajaan yang banyak memperjuangkan kebajikan mereka.

"Tidak ada sebab guru membiarkan kerajaan bersendirian dan kini sampai masanya mereka membantu kerajaan untuk memastikan BN mengekalkan kerusi di Kuala Besut sebagai ucapan terima kasih mereka kepada kerajaan," katanya kepada pemberita semasa beramah mesra dengan penduduk Kampung Kemunting dekat Kuala Besut semalam.

Gesaan Idris mengingatkan kembali mengenai pilihan raya kecil Tenang dahulu apabila pengarah pendidikan negeri Markom Giran dikatakan menyalahgunakan kuasa apabila mengarah guru-guru untuk memastikan kemenangan BN.

Pengarah Pilihan Raya PAS bagi kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Tenang Dzulkefly Ahmad membuat laporan terhadap Makom kerana melawat sekolah di Labis dan Tenang menyuruh guru-guru memastikan kemenangan BN.

Dzulkefly turut menyerahkan klip video empat minit yang dimuat naik ke Youtube menunjukkan Markom memberikan ucapan kepada guru-guru. – 7 Julai, 2013.

SPM 2012 result

PUTRAJAYA, March 21 — A total of 15,793 students obtained straight As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2012 examination, a rise of 0.13 per cent compared to the 15,079 students in the previous year. 

Director-general of Education Tan Sri Abd Ghafar Mahmud said 13,721 students were from the government schools compared to only 12,970 students in 2011, while 2,072 candidates were from private schools compared to 2,109 the previous year. 

“In addition, 481 candidates scored grade A+, which is the highest mark for all subjects that they sat for, with 431 candidates from government schools and 43 from private schools,” he said. 

When announcing the SPM results at his office, here today Abd Ghaffar said 488 candidates with special needs sat for the exam compared with 622 candidates last year, an increase of 27.5 per cent. 

According to Abd Ghaffar, three candidates with impaired vision and two candidates with Attention Deficit Disorder and High Spectrum Autism achieved a minimum of A- in all the subjects. 

“The success of the five special needs candidates shows that all students, despite their shortcomings, have equal opportunity to excel in the SPM,” he said.

There was a 0.04 point decline in the National Grade Point Average (GPN), bringing the number to 5.08 compared to 5.04 the previous year.

“The decline was due to an increase in the number of subjects that reported a drop in performance that exceeded the number of subjects that had reported improvements,” he said. 

Although the number was not significant because it was below 0.05 points, Abd Ghafar said he had instructed a study to be done and improvements to be made in the future. 

He said that based on the GPN, the achievements of candidates in urban areas dropped 0.16 point to 4.83 compared with 4.67 previously, while candidates in rural areas also saw a drop of 0.05 points to 5.44 points from 5.39 points last year. — Bernama

No Malaysian in Harvard U.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Malaysians failed to gain admission into the world’s most prestigious university for the second year in a row due to a slide in the quality of applicants, said Harvard University’s selection panel chief for Malaysia.


Not only did no Malaysian student receive an offer letter but none apparently was even good enough to make it to the interview rounds. This comes after a controversy erupted over the quality of Malaysian education when Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin pointed to a World Economic Forum report to claim that Malaysians had a higher standard of education compared to that in some advanced countries.


Datuk Dr Goh Cheng Teik, who leads the Harvard team that interviews prospective Malaysian students, said he was informed the quality of applicants had deteriorated.

“I called the Harvard College of Admissions Office and was told that although they received applications from Malaysian students, no one was shortlisted for interviews as they are not considered competitive enough,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

A two-year absence from incoming Harvard freshman classes is enough to raise concerns over the quality trends of Malaysian education given that at least one Malaysian had been admitted to Harvard every year from 1985 to 2010.

A statement from Harvard’s interview panel showed that Malaysia was only fourth among Southeast Asian countries in terms of enrolment in the Ivy League institution.

Singapore has the highest number of Harvard undergraduates with 18, followed by Thailand with seven, Vietnam with six, Malaysia with five and Indonesia with two.

It was ranked the No. 1 university in the world last year by the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Some 34,950 applicants were received by Harvard for the 2016 graduating class and only 6.3 per cent were accepted.

Higher number of straight A+ scorers in SPM 2011

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 559 (0.12%) of 468,808 students scored straight A+ in last year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations, compared with 403 (0.08%) straight A+ scorers in 2010.

Education director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Ghafar Mahmud said overall student achievement in the examinations has continually improved in the past four years.

He said 506 of the straight A+ candidates were from national secondary schools and 53 from other schools, compared with 363 and 40 respectively in 2010.

"The overall SPM achievement for 2011 improved from the year before, with the National Average Grade at 5.04 compared with 5.19 in 2010," he added.

"The overall achievement of schools also improved, as the number of schools in the 'excellent' and 'good' categories increased by 13 and 60 schools respectively," he said when announcing the SPM 2011 results analysis at the Education Ministry here Wednesday.

Abdul Ghafar said schools were gauged using the School Average Grade and categorised as "excellent", "good", "satisfactory", and "potential".

Penang Tops STPM Result

PENANG schools have performed better in the STPM examinations last year with the passing rate for students scoring between one principal and five principals at 97.02% compared to the national average of 93.96%.

State Education Department deputy director Dr Sharifah Bee Aboo Bakar said the joint effort of the teachers had contributed to the academic achievements of the students last year.

She said that in 2010, a total of 2,494 students sat for the exams where 96.67% of them scored between one principal and five principals and it was 2,409 students in 2009 with 96.75% obtaining between one and five principals.

“A total of 3,062 students sat for the exam last year and 2,523 students were from the government schools with another 345 from private schools and 194 were private candidates,’’ she said at a press conference held at SMJK Jit Sin in Sungai Rambai near Bukit Mertajam yesterday.

STPM Result Next Wednesday

KUALA LUMPUR: The result of last year's Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examination will be announced on Wednesday, the Malaysian Examinations Council said.

In a statement, it said candidates would be able to obtain their results at their respective schools from 12 noon while private candidates would obtain theirs through the post.

Candidates can also check the result via the text message by sending STPM ResultIC number to 15888 or at the council's website at http://www.mpm.edu.my from noon on that day.

A total 50,602 candidates sat for the examination last year comprising 46,817 candidates from government schools, 1,266 from private schools and 2,519 private candidates. - Bernama

Congrats to Kah Hooi

For the blind: Freedom teammates, Kah Hooi (right) and Bong Zheng Liang showing their safety cane which won them second prize for the Solar Energy Application Design category

I had taught Kah Hooi from Form 1 to Form 5. He was my former student of Physics, Chemistry and Add Maths. He scored 'A' in all the three subjects. I attribute his SPM success for his right attitude towards study. Today, I feel proud of him after learning that he won the first runner up prize for Solar Energy competition held at Heng Eee High School. Well Done! May God continue to bless you abundantly!

Extracted from The Star newspaper:

The Energy Saving Awards 2012 also saw another competition category — the Solar Energy Application Design Compe-tition. The first and second runners up went to teams Freedom and Solar Junior, both from Heng Ee High School.Tan Kah Hooi, 19, from team Freedom, said that they built a cane for the blind with safety features.

“The cane has in-built LED lights and an alarm,” he said.

“This is to help the blind to attract more attention if they are harmed or attacked,” he said.

Penang Science Council Holds ‘2012 Energy Saving Competition’.

SECONDARY school students can bring their imagination to life by designing and constructing a race car model that uses solar energy for the ‘2012 Energy Saving Competition’.The competition, organised by Penang Science Council Malaysia and assisted by Ming Dao University in Taiwan, aims to promote energy and environment conservation among secondary school students in Malaysia.

The council’s Mentoring Young Scientific Entrepreneurs Pillar chairman Datuk Seri Kelvin Kiew said there would be two categories — Solar Model Car Racing Contest and Solar Energy Application Design Competition — which are open to all secondary school students in the country.

He said both events were open to teams of three, and the registration fee is RM100 per person (RM300 per team) per competition.“For the Solar Model Car Racing Contest, each team will be given materials to design and construct their own model,” Kiew told a press conference on Thursday.

“As for the Solar Energy Application Design Competition, participants need to design a model of a product, system or facility that uses solar energy.“Ming Dao University will be sending their experts to educate the students about renewable energy applications throughout their participation in the event.”

Teams can register online at http://www.tiger2u.com/solar2011/ and the closing date is Jan 15 for the Solar Energy Application Design Competition, and Jan 28 for the Solar Model Car Racing Contest.

Kiew said for the design competition, the teams have to submit their design proposal before the closing date.The events will be held at SMJK Heng Ee from Feb 4 to 6. First, second and third placed teams will walk away with RM1,500, RM900 and RM600 respectively, medals and certificates.

Another Flip-Flop from Education Ministry

9-hour policy should never have existed, says Teachers’ Union

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) lauded the government’s decision to do away with the nine-hour workday for school teachers, saying it was unnecessary and should not have been implemented in the first place.  Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced yesterday that the project had been discontinued. 

The deputy prime minister said the decision was made in order to allow the government to evaluate a study conducted on the project which first began with 19 schools in Malacca. “There are a lot of reasons why the nine hour policy is not practical. Making it compulsory for a teacher to be in school for that long is not practical,” NUTP president Hashim Adnan told The Malaysian Insider today.

He urged the Education Ministry to consult workers’ unions in the future before deciding on policies affecting teaching as it could affect the government’s image if there was a sudden change of plans.
“We hope the Education Ministry will discuss matters with us first if they want to implement things like this in the future to avoid the government’s image being affected if policies like this are cancelled before they are actually implemented,” Adnan said. He added the latest announcement showed a weakness in the Education Ministry’s decision making process.

Adnan also said teachers actually worked more than nine hours a day on average if working on public holidays and during formal examinations were taken into account.  “In most schools, there are not enough facilities provided for all teachers to be in school for nine hours,” Adnan added. The new policy would have been implemented January 2012 onwards in four states — Melaka, Sarawak, Pahang and Johor — and would have affected 5,000 teachers from primary and secondary institutions. The policy required morning school teachers to be in school from 7.30am until 4.30pm whereas afternoon school teachers were required to be on duty at 9.30am to 6.30pm.

Teachers’ union says no to 9-hour policy

November 13, 2011 The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 – The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) today urged Putrajaya to revoke the nine hours a day teaching policy for school teachers, as a study has shown it was not beneficial. NUTP also said that the new policy was not suitable at the moment as many schools lack comfortable facilities for teachers.

The new policy will be implemented January 2012 onwards in four states – Melaka, Sarawak, Pahang and Johor – and will affect about 5,000 teachers from primary and secondary institutions. NUTP president Hashim Adnan the new policy would not bring positive results if school facilities and workload of the teachers were considered. “Moreover, teachers are not compelled to work nine hours a day like other services. As the minister said (today), teachers have to have enough rest and they actually work more than nine hours,” he told The Malaysian Insider today. Hashim added that the policy was not popular among teachers, therefore “why should the government go ahead with it?”

He explained that the education ministry should conduct a study before implementing the policy. Under this new policy, morning school teachers are required to be in school from 7.30am until 4.30pm whereas afternoon school teachers are required to be on duty at 9.30am to 6.30pm. Yesterday, deputy education minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong had urged teachers not to ‘panic’ with the new policy. However, Hashim said it was best to forgo the new policy.

“These early signs show that the policy is not going to work, so just revoke it. It’s a waste of time to conduct the study,” he said, adding he hoped the public service department will look into this case especially the facilities at work. “If we were to sit at work for nine hours, we need to have comfortable facilities. Staff in other agencies have tables, a comfortable environment, but not in schools.”

Schools in Penang to form Education Council

 

The Star newspaper, Tuesday 8 Nov 2011


CONSULTATIVE council will be set up in the state to “discuss, debate and research” policies proposed by the Education Ministry. Representatives from some 20 primary and secondary schools here have agreed to form a council soon in the interest of the future generation.

Among the schools were SMJK Perempuan Cina Pulau Pinang, SMK Methodist (Perempuan), SMJK Phor Tay, SMJK Chung Ling, SMK Convent Pulau Tikus and SMJK Jit Sin Butterworth.

Parent S. Krishnan, 51, who was representing SK St Xavier Air Itam, urged all schools in the state to be part of the council. “The council will be formalised soon and we urge all education stakeholders, especially the schools and Parent-Teacher Associations (PIBG), to join us. “I hope similar councils can be established in every state,” he said at the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) press conference here on Saturday.

The father of six, who is also member of the Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) Penang chapter, said education should not be politicised. He said only educationists should be put in charge of issues related to education. PAGE Penang chapter coordinator Rowena Yam said the details of the council would be worked out before it is formally registered. “The council will meet from time to time to give input on matters pertaining to education,” she said.

PPSMI Students Can Continue to Form 5

PUTRAJAYA (Nov 4): The Cabinet has agreed to allow all students in the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) cohort to continue learning the subjects in English until Form Five.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday this meant that primary school pupils in the PPSMI cohort could opt whether to continue learning Science and Mathematics in English or Bahasa Malaysia, or in both languages when they enter Form One beginning next year.

"Thus, the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science in primary schools will only be implemented fully in Bahasa Malaysia in 2016 while in secondary schools it will be implemented in 2021. "With the decision, the abolition of the PPSMI is upheld. The government does not intend to reimplement the PPSMI as demanded by certain groups," he said at a media conference.

He said that the government hoped the decision to allow the PPSMI cohort to continue learning in the English Language up to Form Five could please the
parents. - Bernama

Negeri Sembilan Prince Supports PAGE

The Malaysianinsider news

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Tunku Zain Al-Abidin Tuanku Muhriz showed his support today for the fight to retain the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English (PPSMI), along with other parents’ groups. Tunku Zain who is the second son of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, is also the founding president of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), a libertarian think tank dedicated to promoting market-based solutions to public policy challenges.

“This campaign is not about being elitist. It is about respecting the rights of parents, rich or poor, who think that their children’s futures are best served by giving them a say. “It is also not about the superiority of one language over another; rather it is about an overriding democratic principle. The idea that parents can shape the education of their children, and that government policies must always allow as much choice to parents as possible,” he said at a Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (Page) press conference here at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Memorial.

The prince said he had been warned not to speak on this issue as it is considered sensitive and “too political”.
“I have ignored their advice. This issue is too important, at the cost of short-, medium-, and long-term consequences for our children, for our families and for our nation. Tunku Zain also pointed out that a poll on Facebook showed that more than 6,000 students prefer mathematics and science to be taught in English, while 213 others preferred Malay.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin waded into the fierce debate over the use of English in the teaching of science and mathematics in school, saying Malaysians cannot afford to “sacrifice” Bahasa Malaysia for other languages, last month. Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said that while the government recognised the importance of English as an international language, Bahasa Malaysia will continue to be used as the main medium of instruction in national schools.

He said Malaysians needed to cultivate an attitude where they treated Bahasa Malaysia as a “unique” language, and that if no importance was placed on it, the language risked becoming obsolete.
Pro-English lobby groups like Page have sought the reinstatement of the teaching of science and mathematics in English since it was abolished in 2009. Page has urged that schools be allowed to teach science and mathematics in English, citing widespread support from parents who are in favour of it.
PPSMI was first introduced in 2003 but the Education Ministry decided to put an end to it by 2012 after consulting teachers and parents around the country.

In the uproar that ensued, Putrajaya introduced MBMMBI, which will see the teaching of mathematics and science revert to Bahasa Malaysia from 2012 with more contact hours for English in order to improve students’ skills in the language. In May, The Malaysian Insider reported that the Najib administration had decided not to switch back to PPSMI because several Cabinet ministers felt any change would be seen as another embarrassing flip-flop.

“It is important to have stability in our policies. There have been so many flip-flops in recent times and this is damaging and it is in fact immoral I would say, and economically damaging to let the next generation of Malaysians be the victims of these political games,” the prince said. Tunku Zain said Ideas was inspired by Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj and in his time, he said he was a strong advocate of the use of English in education. “He also said education, at whatever level, can make or unmake a man, or a woman. In the same way, it can make or unmake a nation. Our leaders are well aware of it and they make sure their children receive the best education possible.

“In contrast, boys in the kampungs do not have the same opportunities. My job is to give them the best possible education,” he said. Like his older brother, Tunku Zain received his primary education at the Alice Smith School before boarding at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England.

Race Quotas, Politics Led to Falling UM Standards

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — A World Bank publication has found that standards at Universiti Malaya have fallen and the institution has been kept at a disadvantage because of race-based admission quotas and political interference in university management. In contrast, Singapore’s decision to prioritise research, keeping English as the medium of instruction and a merit-based admissions policy have all contributed to the success of the National University of Singapore’s success, according to “The Road to Academic Excellence,” which studies what contributes to a world-class research university.

The study also noted that Malaysian secondary school students are not well prepared for tertiary education.
It points out that the Malaysian education system promotes rote learning, conformity and uniformity rather than fresh and creative thinking. The study is led by two scholars — Philip Altbach and Jamil Salmi — while various chapters see contributions from various academics.

According to the study, “at an early stage, the Singapore government realised the universities’ role in sustaining economic growth. “In contrast, after 1970, UM’s institutional goals reflected the New Economic Policy, an affirmative action plan for ethnic Malays and indigenous groups, put in place in the wake of disastrous 1969 ethnic riots that took the lives of hundreds of people on both sides of the racial divide.,” the study found. The authors said that apart from the student quota system, the NEP translated into more scholarships to Bumiputeras, special programmes to facilitate their entry into higher education institutions, and the use of the Malay language in place of English in the entire education system by 1983.

“In UM and in government, the policy impact spiralled upward so that Bumiputera staff members, over time, secured almost all senior management, administrative, and academic positions. “As NUS kept pace with the demands of a growing economy that sought to become competitive internationally, with English continuing as the language of instruction and research, UM began to focus inward as proficiency in English declined in favour of the national language — Bahasa Malaysia — and the New Economic Policy’s social goals took precedence.”

Budget 2012 in Educational Sector

• Parents will no longer have to pay school fees for their children in primary and secondary education. No more fees for co-curriculum, internal test papers, Malaysian Schools Sports Council fees and insurance premium
• One-off RM200 cash voucher for all school pupils and higher learning institution students.
• RM1 billion allocation through a special fund for the construction, improvement and maintenance of schools in need of upgrades. RM500 million would be allocated to national schools while national-type Chinese and Tamil schools, government-assisted religious schools, mission schools and Mara junior science colleges will receive RM100 million each.
• Tax exemption on contributions to educational institutions.
• Private schools registered with the Education Ministry will be given incentives including an Investment Tax Allowance

How about teacher.....?

• Another half month bonus will be paid on December.
• Civil service salary hikes of between seven and 13 per cent.
• Increase in the rate of automatic annual increments in civil service salaries of between RM80 and RM320.
• Pensioner teacher will get 2% increment annually.
• Teacher who opt for EPF will get 1% contribution from employer for earning RM 5000 and below.
• Retirement of teacher extend to 60 years old from 58.
• Teacher will be offered tuition fee assistance for part-time studies.

No Malaysian U in The 400

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — No Malaysian university made the grade in this year’s Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, which lists the world’s top 400 universities. This is despite Universiti Malaya’s (UM) greatly improved performance in last month’s QS World University Rankings, leaping 40 places from 2010 to 167.Malaysia’s oldest university was the only local institution to breach the QS top 200 mark after improving its academic, employment and international scores.

US, UK and European universities continued their traditional domination of the league tables in the THE rankings released yesterday. The California Institute of Technology — or Caltech — secured top spot, followed by Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Princeton. In the bottom half of the top 10 were Cambridge University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Imperial College London, Chicago University and Berkeley.

Only 18 Asian universities made the top 200, led by the University of Tokyo (30), University of Hong Kong (34), National University of Singapore (40) and Peking University (49). Pohang University of Science and Technology (53), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (94) and Seoul National University (124) — all from South Korea — also made the cut.

Down under, University of Melbourne (37) beat rivals Australian National University (38) and the University of Sydney (58) to be the highest ranked Australian university in the top 200. The THE rankings, which first appeared as a supplement in The Times of London, are now published by the Times Higher Education magazine. The weekly is regarded as the UK’s leading higher education publication.

5 Cs Outdated Oledi, Now 5 Bs

The Star, Tuesday October 4, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: The five “Cs” cash, condominium, car, credit card, country club are old hat. Malaysian youth today are all about the five “Bs” billions, Benz, brains, body and bungalow in a partner. Inspirational trainer Chew Hoong Ling, who will be speaking at youth forum Kahwin 4.0 this Saturday, said demand for quality partners from both sexes had increased in tandem with modern times.

“You might want a (Mercedes) Benz or Bentley but get a partner who drives a 15-year-old car. Instead of just a career and cash, you want your partner to have billions,” she joked when interviewed yesterday. On a serious note, she said these five “Bs” did not guarantee a happy marriage as they were merely materialistic demands.
 

Malaysian U in QS World University Rankings.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Universiti Malaya (UM), Malaysia’s oldest institution of higher learning, leapt 40 spots this year to breach the top 200 mark in the London-based QS World University Rankings.
But at rank 167, UM lagged more than 100 paces behind Singapore’s National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), which ranked at 28 and 58 respectively.

Apart from UM, the only Malaysian university that made it as the world’s top 300 universities was Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) at rank 279, dropping 16 spots from last year’s rank of 263. The QS World University Rankings currently considers over 2,000 and evaluates over 700 universities in the world. The rankings assess factors including academic reputation, employer reputation, graduate employability, research and staff-student ratios.

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) Ltd Intelligence Unit head Ben Sowter was quoted in English daily The Star today as saying that UM was the only Malaysian university to have improved in its academics, employer scores and international aspects. According to the daily, Sowter said UKM had faltered in the employer reputation review and citations per faculty but improved in terms of academic reputation.
Going by academic reputation alone, the QS list ranked UM at 176 while Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) made it to 209, ahead of UKM at 220.

The Star also quoted Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin as saying that UM’s improvement was a reflection of the university staff’s hard work. In the world rankings list, USM made it to the 335th spot compared to 309 last year while Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) ranked at 358, dropping from 319 last year. UK’s Cambridge University held on to the top spot in the international league table, followed by United States’ Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University and UK’s Oxford University.

The highest ranked Asian universities in the same table are the University of Hong Kong at 22, University of Tokyo at 25 and NUS at 28. In the Asian University Ranking 2011 by QS, UM made it to the 39th spot, ahead of UKM at 53, USM at 54, UPM at 57 and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) at 76.
Topping the list was the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, followed by the University of Hong Kong and NUS. Singapore’s NTU made it to rank 17.