Lighten book loads to bring back joy of schooling

KUALA LUMPUR: Complaints about burdening our children with unnecessarily heavy book loads have been persistent for a long time.

However the Ministry of Education has sadly not solved the burden and pain of the book overload that our poor children are forced to bear every day.

Let’s put ourselves in our children’s shoes. We will quickly realize that going to school is a heavy burden that we literally carry everyday - physically and psychology. This goes against their daily well being and the simple satisfaction of happily going to school as we did !

Hence it is no wonder that we have more indiscipline and frustration in our schools today. All this leads to more truancy or ponteng, and even bullying on our schools.

The Ministry of Education must largely accept the responsibility for this bad and burdensome state of affairs .

After all, the Ministry has issued circulars on heavy workbooks and homework, long ago, in 2000 and again in 2004 . But the Ministry officials, many principals and also teachers have ignored the Ministry instructions limiting the number of workbooks that need to be carried to school.

So what is the use of circulars that are rarely or barely enforced?

The implications are the growing public perceptions that the authority of the Government is thus being undermined, the heads of schools and staff are being defiant, many parents are challenging the sound professional advice of the Ministry. The unfortunate results are that the overloaded students are left to suffer in silence ! How sad for our children.

Actually, the majority of parents and students are being let down because of poor enforcement of the ministry’s circulars by the majority in the education system. This has happened, just because of the irresponsibility of a tiny minority of parents who foolishly insist on teachers giving unduly more homework and thus creating the false need to carry more heavy book loads to school.

Where is the logic in this kind of education?

No wonder our school academic performances measured by international standards like Pisa that are relatively low and our national productivity has become unimpressive and even declining.

As former education director general Tan Sri Alimuddin Md Dom stated, the purpose of education is to produce holistic pupils and building character - and if I may add nurturing our future leaders. But are we achieving this sacred goal by burdening our students with too much homework, cramping their enthusiasm to learn and think critically and to enjoy their childhood and school life?

In our time, we generally enjoyed school much more and yet prospered. Can we give these same gifts to our children and grandchildren please?

Popular Malacca Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin has lamented that we were still “exam oriented”. Well-respected Parents Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abd Rahim, has advised that parents and schools have to agree on the number of workbooks to be used in school.

These pragmatic experts and other enlightened education thought leaders and parents, can’t all be wrong. We must listen and act fast accordingly to improve the burdensome situation for our children’s sake.

With stronger leadership from the Ministers and senior officials in the Ministry of Education, there will be stronger support for the enforcement of the ministry circulars.

Then parents and teachers can collaborate more to reduce the burden of book loads for our helpless children.

Better enforcement of the Ministry circulars will then bring, more relief to our students, improved academic results, a greater sense of well being and as importantly, more fun to go to school !

So to all concerned, please don’t burden our children and stifle their precious childhood and their joy of school days.

Please help their joy of learning and yearning to resolve to serve our beloved country on its 60th anniversary and up to and beyond 2050 with Transformation 50 (T50).

Selamat Hari Merdeka 2017.

(This commentary is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect BERNAMA’s stand or views on the matter) Bernama