...Penang Free School?

A School of Scholars, Sportsmen and Gentlemen.....

What has become of my alma mater?

Every year I return for the summer and I get more and more saddening news about Penang Free School, the oldest school in Malaysia. What once was a glorious empire of academic and extra-curricular supremacy has now been reduced to an institution riddled with instability and declining prestige.

I remember the times when I used to be so proud of being a student of the great PFS. But now with all the changes that the school has undergone since I left, there’s really no pride left in that claim. All I have left is the privilege of being part of the school just at the brink of the end of its heyday. PFS is a premier school no more.

Amongst the issues that are related to the school’s decline:

1)Rapid turnover rate for Headmasters:
The biggest mistake made by the State Government was to introduce headmasters that weren’t Old Frees. The new batch of headmasters were basically semi-retired old farts who had no dedication or emotional attachment to the school whatsoever. To make matters worse, the state department changed our headmasters almost every three to four years. So even before any form of attachment could form, they would be transferred.

2)OFA Pulls Funding:
The sorry state of the school and the new administrations unwillingness to cooperate has caused the Old Frees Association to withdraw its financial support for PFS. Imagine that. And Old Boy’s Assoc withdrawing support for the very institution that its existence is based on. This should paint a picture of how adverse the situation has become.

3)Billboards Aplenty:
I was absolutely appalled when I passed by my beloved school only to have my view of the Grand Lady totally obscured by an advertisement for Penang White Coffee. Four or five others line the school fence making the school look more like a cash cow than an educational institution. It was obvious the school was in dire need for funding, especially since OFA had pulled out. But I blame it on poor administration. Pure stupidity I tell you.

4)Decline in Academia:
With many of the older generation of teachers leaving and rather pale in contrast replacements coming in (see previous article), the state of the schools academic performance is taking a nosedive. No longer are we hailed in the newspapers for topping the list of top scorers, nor are we winning any more science or math Olympiads. Our trophy cabinets aren’t being replenished, our list of accolades stagnant.

5)Imbalance in Racial Quota
This may be a rather sensitive issue, but I hope you read it with an open mind. The racial quota for the incoming students of PFS has been severely altered in the past three years. I’ve heard that as little as 20% of the incoming student population are non-Malays. I’ve been told by a friend that there are only 5 non-Malay students in his Form 1 classroom. It’s obvious that the school has lost is rich sense of diversity which made it a breeding ground for unity amongst races. The heavily imbalanced racial quota just dumps our students of today back in the dark ages and further fuels our righteous anger towards the government’s show of favoritism towards the bumiputras.

6)Ridiculously High Security
The last time I went back to visit, the school looked like a maximum security prison. During school hours, all the gates were locked up. There are high fences and a guardhouse at the main gate. The only way to go in and out was through the Main Gate under the watchful eye of the guard. Now, even if you are an Old Free, you have to sign in and leave your IC at the guardhouse before entering the school. Some display of hospitality for someone who’s spent 5 years of his life there. The public cant even use the school field for recreational activities anymore.

There may be more issues at hand, but I cant think of them off the top of my head. But it’s clear that the school is in jeopardy. I don’t see the school returning to its former glory anytime soon. It just reminds me of how something beautiful and great, when placed in the wrong hands, can turn into an absolute abomination.

Fortis Atque Fidelis

...High School Educators of Today??

I don’t know if you have noticed this or not, but the quality of the teaching force in high schools is facing a steep decline these past few years. Teachers aren’t what they used to be.

IMHO, the best educators are the ones that are about 45-50 years old right now. Teachers of that generation were both inspired and inspiring, commanded our respect and really knew their stuff. The greenhorns on the other hand didn’t leave such a great impact on me. They seemed more complacent; less motivated and didn’t inspire much confidence with their methods of teaching.

I actually narrowed the issue down to one cause and I believe it is a really valid point. The reason to the sorry state of the new generation of educators is the ever changing trend of job prestige in the eyes of society.

Every few years, how prestigiously a job is rated changes with the demands of the times. Back in the good old days, teaching used to be a very sought after profession. It was considered one of the more stable and better paying jobs in the market. People actually aspired to be teachers during the time, working towards a degree before pursuing their noble task of enlightening the young minds of the later generation.

Nowadays things are very different. As university degrees are at an all-time high in terms of accessibility, having a bachelor’s degree is just the starting point. The question today isn’t if or if not you have a degree, but what kind of degree you have. Because of this ongoing trend, being a doctor or an engineer isn’t that huge a leap anymore. If you have the right amount of resources, you’re well on your way to obtaining a degree which was once almost unattainable back in the good old days.

So what does happens to those who don’t have a bachelor’s degree?

I guess the matter that I’m driving at is really the fact that teachers back then were educators by choice, and most of the teachers of today are educators as a victim of circumstance. This may explain the lackadaisical attitude for a number of the contemporaries. The level of education received also correlates to their lack of substance. The older generation of educators, as mentioned earlier, had university degrees, while nowadays all you need is a diploma or a certification for attending some Maktab Perguruan.

I am not saying that there aren’t any excellent teachers out there anymore. Of course there are. And for those of you who have chosen to educate as a profession, I solute you! You have chosen to pursue a very noble undertaking. However, the reason why I brought this issue up is not to spike the teaching force of today. Rather, I’m speaking about the sorry state of the education system the change of job prestige to the social eye has left behind.

So what alternatives do we have for the future? I don’t expect to see a positive change in the teaching force in the coming years. Among many alternatives are home schooling, computer aided learning and distance education. Take your pick.