Educational reform in SE Asia
Educational reform in SE Asia
By Kasina Olarnriksupuck
BANGKOK: Southeast Asian countries, which recently adopted the basic educational reform concept of UNESCO's education for all people program, are facing problems and the most critical of which is a shortage of capable teachers.
The 1990 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conference in Bangkok showed that developing countries in the region, including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, have adjusted their basic educational programs to suit today's globalization and industrialization needs.
The governments of these four countries embarked on educational reform less than two years ago. They have faced many difficulties, such as the limited number of schools, obsolete curriculum and the prevailing attitude of some parents who do not see education as important, among others.
On top of all these problems is the dearth of qualified and dynamic teachers.
All countries follow the same line of educational reform -- to westernize the educational curriculum with the aim of fulfilling their country's vision to become industrialized. But at the same time they will try to preserve national and cultural identities.
Schools will concentrate on subjects like science and mathematics, with emphasis also on computer literacy and basic English skills, which are essential tools in today's globalized economy.
The Malaysian government seems to be the most active in the development of educational programs among the four countries. It has improved the basic educational reform of curriculum since the '80s with a focus on Vision 2020 -- the year the country is expected to become fully industrialized.
Indonesia extended the compulsory education from six to nine years in 1993.
While the Thai government has yet to formally reform its educational policies, various ideas of reform put forth were seconded by UNESCO. These include a plan to extend the compulsory education from six to nine or to 12 years by 1996, a student loan plan, distant education through the Thaicom satellite and encouragement of private sector participation in education.
The Philippines, the regional leader in higher education, started improving the quality of compulsory education in 1993 with the hiring of additional teachers.
From studies conducted in various countries, most of the present crop of teachers are not that competent in important subjects needed for industrialization, such as mathematics, science and English. As such, governments need to subsidize the training of teachers.
Innovation is needed to be able to come up with training modules that will enable teachers to learn how to do their task effectively and how to adjust their curriculum themselves to suit each cultural community.
More importantly, governments have to make teachers realize that their services are indispensable and as such, they must offer higher wages and ensure better working conditions by providing the right equipment, for instance.
A cue could be taken from the Malaysian government which has revamped its primary and secondary educational curriculum.
The new curriculum aims to make students more skillful and intellectual and at the same time allow them to retain the basic traditional values to prevent them from becoming too materialistic, said University of Malaya's Department of Educational Development Dean, Dr. Rahimah Ahmad.
Like other nations, the country has faced similar problems in trying to improve basic education on a large scale. Such ideas are prevalent among government officials and educators, although the mainstream of society remains hesitant to change.
But it would seem that teachers who are agents of effective education are not capable of, or enthusiastic for change. Some do not value the contribution they are making to society, while others believe that their profession pales in comparison to others with the salary not high enough, said Khadijah Rohani Mohd Yunas of the University of Malaya.
The Malaysian government has promoted training for teachers with a focus on them becoming aware of impractical teaching rules and on adjusting the curriculum together with local communities of various cultures to avoid conflicts and protests against education, given Malaysia's multi-cultural society.
The country does not have a compulsory educational system, but up to 90 percent of the population has finished secondary school, with 60 percent finishing senior high school. Only 30 percent of the population is enrolled in higher education.
Lower education is almost free, while tuition at the university level is "very cheap", Khadijah added.
There are nine public universities and no local private universities. However, international universities have mushroomed in Malaysia in the last few years. The situation is similar to Thailand where the University of Maryland and the University of Southern Illinois are expected to open branches. Malaysia calls it a twinning program and it is very popular among students.
Indonesia on the other hand extended compulsory education from six to nine years last year. However, it still faces a shortage of teachers, especially in remote areas. The government has granted several teaching scholarships to students in some communities with the hope that they will engage in this profession after graduation. However, the low wages have discouraged them from doing so.
Parents are unwilling to send their children to school and many want them to help in the farming chores. As a result, the government has opened more non-formal schools that will enable students to study at home.
The Philippines has a basic 10-year short educational program. The educational reform started in 1993 after the government realized that many Filipinos wanting to enter into semi-skilled and skilled professions did not go beyond secondary education.
Therefore, the government established an Education Commission and tasked it with surveying the country's educational system with the aim of finding out ways to improve it. The commission's 1991 study showed that teachers of basic subjects are not qualified: only 34 percent of teachers in general science were qualified, biology (30.5), chemistry (15.4), mathematics (54.6) and physics (4.4).
Another study in 1990 revealed that secondary school teachers scored only eight percentage points higher than their students' mean of 45 percent in the evaluation test. The teachers also scored low in English (58.49).
Subsequently, with the need for improvement imperative, government asked universities to take a leading role in improving the quality of teachers.
Aida C. Caluag of the Ateneo de Manila University, one of the two renowned institutions of teacher education, said the university came up with a module to train teachers for four days with a subsidy from the government. Teachers attend the training sessions when they have the time to do so, such as weekends.
The module stressed "how to teach" effectively. The programs had three objectives: building a sense of mission, building a relationship with students in person and strengthening knowledge of basic subjects.
Higher education is expensive and there are only four public universities, although there are 93 private institutions. However, 55 percent of the population finished higher education.
The country is the leader and hub of education in Southeast Asia. Educational reform in the Philippines, therefore, focuses on quality enhancement, especially in teachers.
In Thailand however, there is no formal plan for educational reform. However, both public and private sectors are actively made aware of projects and concepts for a better education. Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Education Dean, Associate Prof. Dr. Paitoon Sintarat said government needs to have a clear goal of what it really wants as far as education is concerned.
The extension of compulsory education will be done in 1996. The original plan was to extend it from six to nine years, although it is possible that the government will extend it to 12 years.
The Chuan government had also initiated a student loan scheme of Bt6.5 billion for poor students to enable them to enroll in a higher level of secondary education. This would have started in 1996 with an initial target of 132,000 students. The budget would then be increased to Bt17 billion for 300,000 students in the fourth year. Within 15 years, 922,000 students will be eligible for the loan.
The government has established a department for distant education wherein students in remote areas will be able to study through the Thaicom satellite. The project, however, has yet to get off the ground.
The private sector has also been called to play a more important role in education. The Thai Farmers Bank has already donated a substantial amount in a research project that will study how Thailand's education should be run in the future as well the feasibility of allowing more international schools to operate in the country.
-- The Nation
Window: From studies conducted in various countries, most of the present crop of teachers are not that competent in important subjects needed for industrialization, such as mathematics, science and English.