By IPS Correspondents
PENANG, Malaysia, Mar 11 1997 (IPS)

The Malaysian government envisions all its academic institutions graduating into ‘smart schools’ in the next 13 years, churning out technology whizzes who will be the country’s edge in an information age.

But social analysts wonder if this policy, aimed at giving Malaysia a high-technology leap, will resolve deep-rooted problems that are plaguing the nation’s education system.

The ‘smart schools’ plan comes at a time when the government is busy promoting the Multimedia Super Corridor project, which was launched in January. It involves the creation of a 50 km by 15 km high technology zone south of capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

The corridor will link the capital’s 1,483-feet Petronas Twin Towers, currently the world’s tallest buildings, to Malaysia’s new international airport, which when completed will be the region’s largest.

But while Malaysia’s ambitions are high, it knows very well it still lacks information technology (IT) workers to realise its dream for the Multimedia Super Corridor.

The ‘smart schools’ approach, which involves a series of reforms in current education approaches, is precisely aimed at tackling the woeful shortage of computer-skilled workers at present.

The first batch of 85 schools, including three along the planned super corridor, will be linked to the Internet by 1999. All other schools will be turned into ‘smart schools’ by 2010.

The wide use of multimedia technology would enhance learning in smart schools, Education Minister Najib Razak said recently. He added that pedagogy, textbooks, and school administration would also be revised.

‘Smart schools’ would have fewer pupils in each class, with the target being 30 or a good number smaller than the current 40 to 45 students in a class. In such a setting, the teacher will act more as a facilitator, added Najib.

His ministry has set aside 12 million Malaysian ringgit (4.8 million U.S. dollars) to equip the country’s 31 teacher-training colleges with computer laboratories. They offer a 14-week course in computer knowledge for teachers twice a year.

The ministry also plans to train 1,750 information technology master trainers, who would then go on to train 30,000 other teachers in core subjects.

The race to improve computer literacy among Malaysians is timely: Malaysia ranks only 28 among 49 countries, well behind neighbouring Singapore’s No. 2 ranking.

Experts say they are certain that computers will assist in the learning process in schools. But social analysts say the drive to push education into the information technology age may do little to address some of the basic woes that plague Malaysians’ schools today.

Parents and pupils alike often complain that the learning process in most schools depends too much on rote learning, apart from being uninteresting.

The system does not promote creative and critical thinking, experts say. “They have so much to memorise they don’t have time to think,” observes Shakila Manan, a university lecturer.

Students may also have to watch what thoughts they express in school, even in more analytical courses. “You cannot be too critical on topics like the population policy or Vision 2020 or you could be penalised,” Shakila said. “It all depends on who is marking the paper.”

Others find the system too exam-driven. “There are too many tests,” grumbled Gan Kong Hwee, a retired teacher. “There are hardly any character-formation programmes, except for the uniformed units such as the Scouts.”

And because the system puts a premium on academic success, parents expect their children to bring home high grades. “Children are under so much pressure in school. After school hours, they have to go for endless tuition classes,” Shakila explained.

“They don’t have much time to do the things children normally do,” she added.

Malaysia’s education system allows for automatic promotion of pupils annually regardless of their performance, a policy that come under criticism.

Pupils who lag behind in class quickly lose interest once they are promoted, then find themselves totally lost when given more advanced work. Their lack of progress in advanced classes frustrates them, their peers and their teachers. Sensing they are going nowhere in school, these slow-learners eventually resort to playing truant or disrupting class.

“Remedial teaching in school is not very well implemented,” Gan said. “They (slow pupils) are promoted just to keep them in school.”

Social campaigners also want more efforts put into studying the needs of slower pupils, noting that there is on the other hand so much emphasis on programmes for gifted children.

Teachers have their own complaints, ranging from too much bureaucratic red tape and routine paperwork to low salaries. A fresh non-graduate teacher earns about 700 ringgit (280 U.S. dollars) – which is what an office clerk earns.

Computers may be a vital teaching aid in modern schools. But, experts say, what Malaysia urgently needs now is an infusion of good old-fashioned thinking and creativity in schools.

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