The debate about JPA scholarship has began to heat up again, with MCA and MIC calling for the scholarship to be awarded based on merit. (For the benefit of non-Malaysian readers, JPA scholarship is the Public Service Department scholarship).
On a personal note, I would call for JPA scholarship to be revamp. The following are my reason and how the revamp should be:
Don't award scholarship based on SPM (o-level equivalent) results.
On a personal note, I would call for JPA scholarship to be revamp. The following are my reason and how the revamp should be:
Don't award scholarship based on SPM (o-level equivalent) results.
- It does not make sense to award a university-level scholarship strictly based on an examination taken two level before. Many cases in the past where after receiving the scholarship, students do not do well in their A-levels and subsequently do not meet the requirement to qualify for university
Need to differentiate between scholarship and financial aid.
This distinction needs to be clearly specified.
- If JPA scholarship is going to help students from poor background to succeed, then it should take the form of financial aid. Give to students who are academically deserving, but more importantly, those with genuine financial needs. Fundamentally, financial aid could be allocated based on quota according to the needs of the target groups. In such circumstances, the financial aid should also provides the flexibility for students either to serve their bond or repay the financial aid after graduating. After all, these aids are intended to help the poor come out from poverty through education, and it should not concern about training and keeping the best brains.
- On the other hand, if JPA scholarship is a "scholarship", then it should be strictly merit-based and given out to the best brains in the country, regardless of background and ethnicity. Adding to that, students should be assessed not only by their academic result and extra-curricular activities involvement, but more importantly, their suitability to serve in the civil service. In addition, the Public Service Commission must ensure all these brains will eventually come back and serve the country in the civil service. This is one important aspect JPA scholarship must improve for the country to reap the benefits.
Without this clear distinction of scholarship and financial aid, the debate about equality and the objective of JPA scholarship is misleading and a waste of time.
Why waste "university-level" scholarship money for A-levels tuition fees?
Why waste "university-level" scholarship money for A-levels tuition fees?
- The more rationale method would encourage all students, regardless of how smart and bright, to continue STPM or "Matriculation" programme in public schools. After all, isn't the STPM a globally recognised qualification examination to university worldwide? If this is not the case for both STPM and Matriculation, then it's about time the Malaysian education policy-makers began to fundamentally think about this. I know for sure, National University of Singapore do not recognise Malaysian Matriculation programme.
Scholarship to be awarded after receiving a University offer.
- This is the best way to ensure that the scholarship is given out based on merit. Why award a scholarship when the student have not even got a university placement? Isn't gaining entry into the best university such as Harvard or Cambridge, a better and more accurate indicator of the student's ability and competence, rather than just relying on SPM results and extra-curricular activities? In a way, JPA also do not need to be worried about the suitability of the students to excel in their particular field of interest. This responsibility has been given to the admissions officers in these university.
Additions:
DAP has also joined the bandwagon to discuss about JPA scholarship through organising a public forum. I wonder, is it possible to distangle politics from education? Perhaps only without political influence, educational decisions could take place. Well, just my naive thinking.
(Again for the understanding of non-Malaysian readers, MCA and MIC are political parties in the ruling coalition that "represent" the Chinese and Indians, while DAP is another political party on the opposition side in Parliament).
DAP has also joined the bandwagon to discuss about JPA scholarship through organising a public forum. I wonder, is it possible to distangle politics from education? Perhaps only without political influence, educational decisions could take place. Well, just my naive thinking.
(Again for the understanding of non-Malaysian readers, MCA and MIC are political parties in the ruling coalition that "represent" the Chinese and Indians, while DAP is another political party on the opposition side in Parliament).
4 comments:
this is certainly very well said...very much agree...
great insights and thanks for clarifying the issues.
given the fact that both 'need-based' and 'merit-based' scholarships are necessary in m'sia, how do you suggest jpa resolve this dual-need?
maybe jpa should be the body to administer financial aid, while scholarship be administered by an agency which has linked with industrial upgrading and human capital formation in the country.
also, in more developed countries, financial aid is now linked to wages in the sense that recipients will only have to pay back if they manage to secure jobs with a certain wage threshold. this is to incentivize students to obtain aid for jobs that have the most marketability, and this risk is shared by the financiers to ensure that the right education/training is provided.
stpm is also taking up too much time! what abt fusing stpm and matriculation into a one-year program instead?
For the start, I guess JPA should stay away from "need-based" scholarship. Probably PTPTN might have the infrastructure to administer this financial aid (regardless of the effectiveness and other managerial problems within the current PTPTN system).
As I mentioned, if the objective for scholarship is "need-based", it should not forced upon the recipients with service bond. There are multiple ways of repayment but restricting the graduates to serve in civil service is certainly not the best way out. After all, these "need-based" recipients do not need to be the best brains. About the repayment methods, there will be a book by IPPTN giving insights to the various repayment methods in Australia, New Zealand, India and Thailand.
STPM and Matriculation is an important and critical topic of debate in Malaysian education system. Sadly, the debate so far is too superficial.
Not only looking at the time length, but also many important issues such as pedagogy, teaching method, content, and more importantly, the suitability as a pre-university curriculum. Bear in mind, today's STPM is very different from 2001 when I sat for it.
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