Zakaria Kasa of the National Professors Council gave the example of schools in Singapore, where, he said parents often played an important role in ensuring students’ academic performance.
“In Singapore, they urge the parents to be assistant teachers. Most of them will assist students during reading sessions, small class activities and many more,” he told FMT.
He said Malaysia should adopt a similar culture instead of pinning responsibility on teachers alone.
He added that parents should be more proactive in assisting students in their studies rather than simply passing the baton to the teachers.
Pointing to the Malaysian Education Blueprint (PPPM) 2013-2025, he said it had not fulfilled the initiative to have more parents involved in their children’s education.
“The education process works both ways,” he said.
“Parents should not expect teachers to ensure all 20 to 30 students in each class perform well. Parents should play their part as well.”
Zakaria also urged the education ministry to consider capping the number of students at 15 per class.
“The quantity of students does affect their academic performances,” he said.
“However, if Malaysia decides to implement the ‘assistant teachers’ mechanism, having a large number of students in one class will not be a hindrance.”
He said the responsibility of ensuring that students performed well academically rested in the hands of parents, teachers, the ministry and society.
In May 2015, The Malay Mail Online reported that low quality teachers were the main reason for the country’s poor placement in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study on education.
Quoting parent groups, the report said flaws in the education system were due to the poor selection of educators.
It said the problem also rested with the monitoring and measuring of teachers’ performance, as well as the remuneration and reward for teachers and school managements.
Previous reports said the poor UPSR results for 2016 were due to the lack of clear communication between the education ministry and the Examinations Syndicate.
PAGE chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim claimed that the teachers were left in the dark over how to fully help the primary school system’s transition from the KBSR (Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Rendah) syllabus to KSSR (Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah).
She said this lack of coordination and understanding was reflected in last year’s UPSR results, which saw only 4,896 pupils scoring straight As — 1.11% of the 452,721 pupils who sat for the exam that year.