Seek for quick success and instant benefits

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By Soong Phui Jee
The people's first reaction to the SMK Sacred Heart's practice of rewarding a brand new Perodua Myvi car to the Best Teacher and Best Student of the school was, would it cause the deterioration of education?
After awarding cars today, would they give diamond rings or sport cars tomorrow? Awarding such expensive gifts for students might distort the purpose of education. If children study only to receive gifts and rewards, would they understand the true meaning of studying? Would they study for themselves, or to receive material rewards?
In fact, not only the above mentioned school, but many other schools nationwide have gradually tended to seek for quick success and instant benefits. For example, some of the so-called "elite schools" stress much on examination results and refuse to let students with poor results take government examinations to prevent them from pulling down the school's average grade. Shouldn't schools teach all children without discrimination?
If school education stresses on data and achievements like business and highlight only the number of As the students get and how high the passing rate is, what would be left if these data are taken away?
The Education Ministry has spent large sums of money to issue the Outstanding School Award, Outstanding Principal Award and Outstanding Student Award. Have they brought a positive effect? Education director-general Tan Sri Abd Ghafar Mahmud said that the Education Ministry issues the Outstanding School Award to schools with excellent performance in the SPM, based on their school average grades (GPS). He added that the performance of a school can be reflected by the number of students getting straight As in government examinations.
The move of issuing awards based on the results of government examinations has encouraged the emphasis on results while neglecting the nurture of moral conducts. If the success or failure of education is determined by how many As students get, it will be a sorrow for education.
Other countries and regions also issue education awards. However, academic result is not the sole criterion. For example, The teaching Excellence Award in Taiwan is awarded to firstly, those who are committed to develop and promote innovative teaching methods; secondly, those who excellently activate classroom management and counsel students on adaptive development; and thirdly, those who excellently develop teaching programmes based on education policy.
Education is to improve students' learning outcome through improving teaching performance and teaching quality in innovative ways. Our education awards here, however, do not pay attention to creative but spoon feeding teaching methods. If such a trend becomes the mainstream, the goal of enhancing students' ability to think written in the Malaysia Education Blueprint will then remain an idle theory.
Everyone recognises only students with excellent performance and their teachers while those with poor academic performance might be "abandoned" and eventually drop out of school, go astray and involve in criminal acts.
The failure of education in schools is one of the factors causing so many social problems and crimes. If education goes towards the pursuit of material rewards and honour, morality standard might continue to fall.
I miss the days when I was studying in a Chinese independent school. I can still remember that our teachers asked us why we should read and study. It is indeed, also a question that today's educators and students should ask themselves.
As Confucianists said, the responsibilities of teachers are to "preach, teach and clear doubts". If students are confused about life, could we still call our education a successful one?

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