Education is for All

Bismillah and Assalamualaikum all :)

First and foremost, let’s say Alhamdulillah for the uncountable blessings that Allah SWT has bestowed us. Blessing for still living, blessed with good health, happy family, and many more.

       In this semester of my study, I have enrolled in a subject called UNGS 1201 – Sustainable Development: Issues, Policies, and Practices. Through this subject, I’ve learned about SDGs, an acronym that stands for Sustainable and Development Goals. 17 SDGs have been introduced by the United Nation Development Project (UNDP) to protect the world and make it a better place; environmentally, economically, and socially. In this post, I’ll write about the fourth SDG, which is “Quality Education”.      

        As we all know, education is very essential in our life since it will help us to think rationally and survive in this very harsh world. Therefore, in Islam, Muslims must learn and seek knowledge, regardless of their race, status, and gender. Even the first revelation for the prophet Muhammad SAW is “Iqra’” which means ‘Read’ (in action verb), signifies the importance of knowledge.

Read, In The Name of Your Lord (Allah) who Created

 

        Education is divided into two parts – formal and informal. Formal education involves the teaching and learning process in school or any registered learning institutions, taught by professional teachers for each subject, and usually using a systematic, curriculum-based. As for informal education, it refers to learning that results from someone’s activities, such as daily life experiences, family, work, or leisure.

      All people should be given the right to get the best education, not to be differentiated by their gender, status, race, and religion. It was the children’s right to go to school and learn, therefore socialize with their friends. This will ensure the children’s development, social and mental is going well along with their age and physical growth.

      Honestly, I am beyond grateful to be born in Malaysia since this country provides very good quality education to us Malaysian, without any discrimination. We get the chance to go to kindergarten as early as three years old. The government also provides many programs and plans to ensure that no child is abandoned in getting their education. Schools were built in every district, even in rural areas. 

      School fees here are reasonable, as low as RM50 annually per family, and for the poor student, there were funds and scholarships provided to help them in settling their school fees. Some schools give their students monthly allowance, such as SMA (Atas) Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu (SMAASZA). Not to forget, students do not have to buy their textbooks as it is already prepared by the school through the ‘Skim Pinjaman Buku Teks’ (SPBT).  

      We also have our freedom to choose any streams and fields that we want to study. For instance, form 4 students in secondary school are given the chance to decide whether they want to further in science stream, vocational or even go to sports schools. 

    Many range of great school to choose all around the country, as example Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) and Sekolah Berasrama Penuh (SBP) which focuses more on science stream, Sekolah Sukan for young athletes, Kolej Teknik dan Vokasional (skills) and cluster schools.

      Besides that, educational institutions in Malaysia do not limit their students according to gender, as all boys and girls are given the same opportunity to study and learn. We were free to study in any sector of knowledge, even the sector itself has been common with the participation of one certain gender. As proof, boys are free to pursue their studies in culinary and fashion designing, while girls can go for engineering and even to the automotive sector.

      With this quality education provided, the literacy rate of people has been increased, and many professionals have been produced from schools and universities. This is because of the revised curricular in the Malaysian education system. 

      From Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR) which focuses more on 3R – Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic transformed to Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) which focuses on this 4R – Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Reasoning. With the implementation of KSSR, the students will have the ability to explain and think in a bigger context.

      After finishing secondary school, we will pursue our studies in our chosen course, according to the result and passion. Many education institutions we can opt for, such as the Malaysian Matriculation Program, Institute of Teacher Education (IPGM), colleges, public universities, or private universities.

      To make certain that all students get the chance in studying at a higher level, public universities, matriculation colleges, and IPGMs are built, followed by reasonable fees despite the good systematic curricular. From the university curricular, students will get to learn and at the same time, enhance their soft skills and leadership.

      As for the excellent students, who succeeded in achieving high ranking in the SPM, will likely be given the full sponsorship to further their studies in other countries. They will get to learn without any financial problems and can focus more on learning. 

      All in all, Malaysians nowadays are really lucky because we do not have to struggle a lot to get proper, quality education, unlike people in another place, where are lacking necessities and facilities to undergo their daily life. So, we should not complain and compare ourselves to others who luckier but look at people who struggle more than us.

Till we meet again in the next post!

 Amirah