TS,Tuesday March 22, 2011
Whether we realise it or not, there is a huge gap, more like a chasm, between what we are doing and what we should be achieving.
According to a dean of a public university, the primary responsibility of universities is to produce graduates who are capable of thinking for themselves.
“We are not polytechnics. Universities should not be training people for jobs, unless you are in the medical or dental faculty. We are here to produce people who can think and generate new ideas. That’s what we should be doing,” he said.
The same rationale is adopted by other universities. Tertiary education is meant to be an academic pursuit rather than fulfilling industry needs.
As such, graduates are least prepared for the job market. Employers are often shocked at their replies during job interviews and disappointed with their performance at work.
Our universities have succeeded in producing large number of graduates with minimal job skills. Neither can they think well.
Obviously, there must be something fundamentally wrong, as many students have not developed much even after spending several years in a college or university.
Some of their activities may offer us an insight. Many hardworking students continue to learn by rote. Completing assignments through ‘‘cut & paste” is all too common. Some resort to outright plagiarism.
Too many students are only interested in getting their diploma or degree, in the mistaken belief that they would be paid for their qualifications, rather than for the work they produce.
Unknown to them, their certificates are of little value if they cannot describe well in their own words what they have been studying for a few years.
Large numbers of unproductive people render an organisation or country uncompetitive. Some concerned employers engage experts to conduct training needs analysis and introduce measures to fill the gaps. Despite such exercises, many trained staff continue to under perform.
Several years ago, “knowledge workers”, “K-Economy” and “Glocal” were the buzzwords bandied about by local politicians.
For over a decade, we have been lamenting the poor command of English of large numbers of graduates but have overlooked the fact that they have also not mastered their mother tongue.
Anyone who has mastered a language has no difficulty picking up another. Many Malaysians may be able to speak in several languages or dialects but are master of none.
Language is the key to learning and the medium used for verbal communication, in speech and writing. Our shallow thinking and hazy thoughts reflect our poor grasp of language.
Many of our graduates are unable to describe well not only what they have studied but also familiar matters such as themselves, their parents or hometown
Many Malaysians are weak in communication skills, unable to think, speak or write clearly. What we have learned, observed and felt tend to be rather superficial.
This has resulted in frequent quarrels within the family, among relatives, friends, colleagues as well as arguments in the public arena.
Misunderstandings are bound to occur when we are unable to express or comprehend well. Too much of our time is spent on unnecessary hostilities, leaving little time for productivity and progress.
Even with the necessary knowledge, many things remain undone because our poor communication skills have also hampered us to acquire sufficient social skills and values to act meaningfully.
As such, training would be more effective if centred on improving communication skills and effecting a paradigm shift on the participants.
Productivity will rise rapidly when our work attitude is changed from ‘have-to’ to ‘want-to’. Having the ‘know-how’ does not necessarily mean that appropriate action will be taken.
A good example is regular physical exercise. Everyone knows its importance and many can walk briskly for 30 minutes, but very few actually do it.
Each time a warning sign is heeded, we take a step towards progress by becoming healthier, and more productive and competitive.
We slide backwards when others are downtrodden by those championing imaginary threats.
YS Chan, Kuala Lumpur
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