KUCHING: The change in the Form 4 and Form 5 education system may be more acceptable if the Ministry of Education (MOE) conducts surveys among parents and students, said Sarawak Patriots Association (SPA) chairman Datuk John Lau.
He said that this would enable MOE to fully understand the needs of parents and students.
“For example, a student who aspires to be a medical doctor takes Chemistry, Biology, and Additional Mathematics and achieves excellence in his SPM and STPM results.
“However, his application for a medical degree in a local public university is unsuccessful and he is instead offered an engineering course which is not his choice,” he said.
Lau hoped that MOE would be able to shine some light on the steps taken to ensure such situations would not occur.
He was commenting on MOE’s policy of allowing Form 4 students to select subjects based on their interest starting from next year.
He believed the new education system would prepare upper secondary schoolchildren for their future careers when they entered colleges and universities.
“The number of electives offered are good. However, it is sad to note that subjects offered in schools depend on the respective schools’ ability to offer them, particularly Science subjects,” Lau said.
He said that Federal Constitution Article 12 allowed rights with respect to education for every citizen.
“There is no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds on religion, race, descent, or place of birth,” he said.
Lau said that if a student wished to pursue a subject but his school did not offer it, he would have to make do with other subjects — assuming these were offered by the school as well.
“As the standard of English is deteriorating, maybe MOE can consider implementing a compulsory pass for English at the SPM level,” he said, adding that both Bahasa Melayu and History are must-pass subjects for SPM candidates.
“English is an international language for business globally,” he said.
