Educational reform in SE Asia<\/p>\n
By Kasina Olarnriksupuck<\/p>\n
BANGKOK: Southeast Asian countries, which recently adopted the
\nbasic educational reform concept of UNESCO's education for all
\npeople program, are facing problems and the most critical of
\nwhich is a shortage of capable teachers.<\/p>\n
The 1990 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural
\nOrganization (UNESCO) conference in Bangkok showed that
\ndeveloping countries in the region, including Thailand,
\nMalaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, have adjusted their
\nbasic educational programs to suit today's globalization and
\nindustrialization needs.<\/p>\n
The governments of these four countries embarked on
\neducational reform less than two years ago. They have faced many
\ndifficulties, such as the limited number of schools, obsolete
\ncurriculum and the prevailing attitude of some parents who do not
\nsee education as important, among others.<\/p>\n
On top of all these problems is the dearth of qualified and
\ndynamic teachers.<\/p>\n
All countries follow the same line of educational reform -- to
\nwesternize the educational curriculum with the aim of fulfilling
\ntheir country's vision to become industrialized. But at the same
\ntime they will try to preserve national and cultural identities.<\/p>\n
Schools will concentrate on subjects like science and
\nmathematics, with emphasis also on computer literacy and basic
\nEnglish skills, which are essential tools in today's globalized
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian government seems to be the most active in the
\ndevelopment of educational programs among the four countries. It
\nhas improved the basic educational reform of curriculum since the
\n'80s with a focus on Vision 2020 -- the year the country is
\nexpected to become fully industrialized.<\/p>\n
Indonesia extended the compulsory education from six to nine
\nyears in 1993.<\/p>\n
While the Thai government has yet to formally reform its
\neducational policies, various ideas of reform put forth were
\nseconded by UNESCO. These include a plan to extend the compulsory
\neducation from six to nine or to 12 years by 1996, a student loan
\nplan, distant education through the Thaicom satellite and
\nencouragement of private sector participation in education.<\/p>\n
The Philippines, the regional leader in higher education,
\nstarted improving the quality of compulsory education in 1993
\nwith the hiring of additional teachers.<\/p>\n
From studies conducted in various countries, most of the
\npresent crop of teachers are not that competent in important
\nsubjects needed for industrialization, such as mathematics,
\nscience and English. As such, governments need to subsidize the
\ntraining of teachers.<\/p>\n
Innovation is needed to be able to come up with training
\nmodules that will enable teachers to learn how to do their task
\neffectively and how to adjust their curriculum themselves to suit
\neach cultural community.<\/p>\n
More importantly, governments have to make teachers realize
\nthat their services are indispensable and as such, they must
\noffer higher wages and ensure better working conditions by
\nproviding the right equipment, for instance.<\/p>\n
A cue could be taken from the Malaysian government which has
\nrevamped its primary and secondary educational curriculum.<\/p>\n
The new curriculum aims to make students more skillful and
\nintellectual and at the same time allow them to retain the basic
\ntraditional values to prevent them from becoming too
\nmaterialistic, said University of Malaya's Department of
\nEducational Development Dean, Dr. Rahimah Ahmad.<\/p>\n
Like other nations, the country has faced similar problems in
\ntrying to improve basic education on a large scale. Such ideas
\nare prevalent among government officials and educators, although
\nthe mainstream of society remains hesitant to change.<\/p>\n
But it would seem that teachers who are agents of effective
\neducation are not capable of, or enthusiastic for change. Some do
\nnot value the contribution they are making to society, while
\nothers believe that their profession pales in comparison to
\nothers with the salary not high enough, said Khadijah Rohani Mohd
\nYunas of the University of Malaya.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian government has promoted training for teachers
\nwith a focus on them becoming aware of impractical teaching rules
\nand on adjusting the curriculum together with local communities
\nof various cultures to avoid conflicts and protests against
\neducation, given Malaysia's multi-cultural society.<\/p>\n
The country does not have a compulsory educational system, but
\nup to 90 percent of the population has finished secondary school,
\nwith 60 percent finishing senior high school. Only 30 percent of
\nthe population is enrolled in higher education.<\/p>\n
Lower education is almost free, while tuition at the
\nuniversity level is \"very cheap\", Khadijah added.<\/p>\n
There are nine public universities and no local private
\nuniversities. However, international universities have mushroomed
\nin Malaysia in the last few years. The situation is similar to
\nThailand where the University of Maryland and the University of
\nSouthern Illinois are expected to open branches. Malaysia calls
\nit a twinning program and it is very popular among students.<\/p>\n
Indonesia on the other hand extended compulsory education from
\nsix to nine years last year. However, it still faces a shortage
\nof teachers, especially in remote areas. The government has
\ngranted several teaching scholarships to students in some
\ncommunities with the hope that they will engage in this
\nprofession after graduation. However, the low wages have
\ndiscouraged them from doing so.<\/p>\n
Parents are unwilling to send their children to school and
\nmany want them to help in the farming chores. As a result, the
\ngovernment has opened more non-formal schools that will enable
\nstudents to study at home.<\/p>\n
The Philippines has a basic 10-year short educational program.
\nThe educational reform started in 1993 after the government
\nrealized that many Filipinos wanting to enter into semi-skilled
\nand skilled professions did not go beyond secondary education.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the government established an Education Commission
\nand tasked it with surveying the country's educational system
\nwith the aim of finding out ways to improve it. The commission's
\n1991 study showed that teachers of basic subjects are not
\nqualified: only 34 percent of teachers in general science were
\nqualified, biology (30.5), chemistry (15.4), mathematics (54.6)
\nand physics (4.4).<\/p>\n
Another study in 1990 revealed that secondary school teachers
\nscored only eight percentage points higher than their students'
\nmean of 45 percent in the evaluation test. The teachers also
\nscored low in English (58.49).<\/p>\n
Subsequently, with the need for improvement imperative,
\ngovernment asked universities to take a leading role in improving
\nthe quality of teachers.<\/p>\n
Aida C. Caluag of the Ateneo de Manila University, one of the
\ntwo renowned institutions of teacher education, said the
\nuniversity came up with a module to train teachers for four days
\nwith a subsidy from the government. Teachers attend the training
\nsessions when they have the time to do so, such as weekends.<\/p>\n
The module stressed \"how to teach\" effectively. The programs
\nhad three objectives: building a sense of mission, building a
\nrelationship with students in person and strengthening knowledge
\nof basic subjects.<\/p>\n
Higher education is expensive and there are only four public
\nuniversities, although there are 93 private institutions.
\nHowever, 55 percent of the population finished higher education.<\/p>\n
The country is the leader and hub of education in Southeast
\nAsia. Educational reform in the Philippines, therefore, focuses
\non quality enhancement, especially in teachers.<\/p>\n
In Thailand however, there is no formal plan for educational
\nreform. However, both public and private sectors are actively
\nmade aware of projects and concepts for a better education.
\nChulalongkorn University's Faculty of Education Dean, Associate
\nProf. Dr. Paitoon Sintarat said government needs to have a clear
\ngoal of what it really wants as far as education is concerned.<\/p>\n
The extension of compulsory education will be done in 1996.
\nThe original plan was to extend it from six to nine years,
\nalthough it is possible that the government will extend it to 12
\nyears.<\/p>\n
The Chuan government had also initiated a student loan scheme
\nof Bt6.5 billion for poor students to enable them to enroll in a
\nhigher level of secondary education. This would have started in
\n1996 with an initial target of 132,000 students. The budget would
\nthen be increased to Bt17 billion for 300,000 students in the
\nfourth year. Within 15 years, 922,000 students will be eligible
\nfor the loan.<\/p>\n
The government has established a department for distant
\neducation wherein students in remote areas will be able to study
\nthrough the Thaicom satellite. The project, however, has yet to
\nget off the ground.<\/p>\n
The private sector has also been called to play a more
\nimportant role in education. The Thai Farmers Bank has already
\ndonated a substantial amount in a research project that will
\nstudy how Thailand's education should be run in the future as
\nwell the feasibility of allowing more international schools to
\noperate in the country.<\/p>\n
-- The Nation<\/p>\n
Window: From studies conducted in various countries, most of the
\npresent crop of teachers are not that competent in important
\nsubjects needed for industrialization, such as mathematics,
\nscience and English.<\/p>",
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