IN the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Malaysian students scored 440 in Mathematics, 438 in Science and 415 in Reading.
These scores, altghough still behind the benchmark averages in all three disciplines, were enough to push Malaysia up into the middle one-third of the 79 countries participating in PISA 2018, from being in the bottom one-third in previous cycles.
Much headway needs to be made if these 15-year-olds and those taking their place in the years to follow – the backbone of our nation in the next decade and beyond – are to be prepared for the global knowledge economy of the 21st century.
In today’s smartphone and tablet age, learning from prescribed texts is obsolete. More importantly, students need to become adept at how to search, explore and discover; choose intelligently from a range of options and find solutions.
The highest investment should, therefore, be in the one area which can make the difference between high achievement and mediocrity or, worse, retardation: the quality of the teacher in the classroom.
Student academic achievement is driven by their teachers. Success is grounded in curiosity, excitement and inspiration. And, teachers should possess the wherewithal to make that happen.
That’s why countries like Singapore, South Korea, Japan, China, Canada, Estonia, Finland – all PISA high achievers – select, recruit and meticulously train as their teachers only the brightest and best from their schools and colleges with a keen aptitude for teaching – and reward them appropriately.
These teachers are specialised in their respective fields, have a passion to pass on their knowledge and skills to another generation, and like working with and cultivating in their students a keen sense of seeking and finding answers to problems by pushing the frontiers of knowledge.
Our schools must sustain a culture in which fascinated, engaged and supported students tackle and master difficult stuff – a culture to empower our young with the opportunity to make great choices in their future for their own betterment and that of our nation.
Rueben Dudley
Petaling Jaya
