A 60-year-old man has applied to sit for this year’s SPM exam. A rare academic pursuit, indeed.
His never-say-die attitude and mindset that there is no age barrier to education should be admired by all of us. The sexagenarian’s exemplary lead should perhaps also prompt us to make a more profound reflection on the deficiencies of the current education system.
In fact, the old-timer’s intention is not to take on SPM per se. In truth, he hopes to further his education and immerse himself in training courses he really is interested in. But due to the restrictions of the education system, he has no other choice but to take the exam as a prerequisite.
This senior citizen’s undying spirit to better himself is highly respectable but why are our country, our community and our education system not allowing a determined learner like him to take the course of his own predilection?
Many countries have already started special educational programmes solely for adults, enabling housewives and even retired people to choose their favourite educational programmes through simple means.
Some universities even allow them to bundle subjects from different courses. Hence, in terms of enrolment, a liberal and accommodating approach has been adopted so that those people who have long left their school life behind can easily return to reconnect academically with what they love and enhance their knowledge.
In addition, many well-known world class universities have adopted open policies for their libraries and lectures. Outsiders, after some simple procedures, not only can borrow books from these libraries but are also allowed to enter the auditoriums to attend the classes of their choosing.
Many adults over half-a-century old are not pursuing education for test scores or certificates but rather solely for the passion of learning. Oh, how awkwardly does the phrase – “passion for learning” – fit into Malaysia’s education system!
First, our mainstream education system does not offer us much choice and secondly, sitting for the final exam is invariably the ultimate goal of our schools and students. With such rigidity, how then does anyone develop a passion for learning?
Many still believe that grades come first, and sadly, because of this, grades are linked to a student’s intellectual ability. In fact, most students believe deeply in the importance of the final exam – so they think if they could still keep their final exam grades up, their time and efforts throughout their five or six years in school will still be worth it.
While we are preparing a strong cohort of exam candidates, we are also slowly destroying our people-oriented education. To get a diploma for a job has become the sole purpose of the education system while everything else is superficial. There is a glaring absence of the “passion for learning.”
The story of the 60-year-old candidate became news only because in the eyes of most people, education is only bound to children and the younger generation.
They have forgotten education should not be all about exams but also encompass the opportunity to shape personalities and build characters. But the development of such attributes should not be exclusive to children and adolescents alone. Everyone, regardless of age and with the heart to further his or her academic capability, is equally entitled.
Generations of efforts have gone into shaping a perfect education system but in the end, we intertwined true education with exams and allow the mindset of “exams equal education” to hold sway as the norm.
Our exam policies have brought a forlorn feeling of academic deprivation to generations of students and our narrow education philosophy has gradually, but surely, eaten away the calibre of batch after batch of once excellent students. (from Oriental Daily)