What is MedSI?
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How “sick” is Malaysia Education System, especially in institutions governed by MOE?
Well, it’s so “sick” that most students out there still consider MedSI a typical test they face everyday, and they are trying hard to score. Therefore you can see questions like “How should I prepare for MedSI?”, “What questions will be asked?” and “Is MedSI difficult to score?” popping out in forums everywhere.
Thanks to the education system, we have students very capable of “preparation” and “picking ABCDs and Yes/ No”, hoping to provide answers striking the schema / model answer sets. Sorry to say but these students are so pathetic that all they ever know is to “score 85 marks and above”, “score A+” and so on but you can’t blame them, for they are the end product of a defective education system. The government wants to instill critical thinking and “think-outside-the-box” mentality but the students happen to be narrow minded that all they know is marks, grades and nothing else. Ironic isn’t it?
Come to think of it, how many “high quality” students have been previously selected for education programs prior to the implementation of MedSI? How many have graduated as “high quality” teachers, teaching our young generation at the moment? If you are smart enough, you will somehow understand the relationship between lousy school teachers, performance deterioration of students and the quality of education program graduates.
It doesn’t take an Einstein to understand the following scenario:
Mr. A who was weak in academic achievement, communication skill, leadership skill etc. got selected for the education program. During the period of 3 to 4 years, Mr. A was never bothered about meeting new people, learning new things beyond classroom syllabus, organizing and participating in co-curricular activities, workshops, seminars so on. Upon graduation, Mr. A didn’t have to worry about job security as he was quickly assigned to a secondary school to teach some Form 3, 4 and 5 students. Being a mediocre person, he failed to attract students attention with his boring method. Soon the students ignored him during his class but he couldn’t be bothered as he still received his pay easily as a government servant. The students lost interest in study and in the end scored sufficient enough just to apply for a degree in education program. Being influenced by Mr. A, these group of student namely Miss B, Mr. C and Miss D bore the same mindset and behaved more or less like Mr. A during their university years. The cycle went on and on…
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Right now the government finally realizes the problem and is taking ways to rectify the education glitch. MedSI stands for Malaysian Educators Selection Inventory. It is a 300-question test required to be taken by all applicants for the Bachelor of Education program at public institutions of higher learning starting from the 2007/2008 academic session. Those who pass the test will be called for interview. Those who fail will be given opportunity on other choices made during the MOHE’s UPU online application.
What is so special about MedSI is that it is not an ordinary test (therefore no standard answers / model answers) as technically it is a psychometric evaluation though most people will identify it as a personality test. Understand the following from wikipedia:
“Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of educational and psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits. The field is primarily concerned with the study of measurement instruments such as questionnaires and tests…”
I bet terms like psychometrics, multiple intelligence, psychophysics and semantics must be very new to most students nowadays as all they know is to study from textbooks even though they know what is have heard the word psychology. These young people have broadband internet connection but have they really utilize it effectively, or the main purpose of having broadband connection is to play MMORPG or DoTA? Anyway, frankly speaking, the purpose of implementing MedSI is to filter out unqualified candidates from entering the program with the hope that successful graduates will possess better learning skill, communication skill, critical thinking skill etc. when they serve the community thus restoring the long lost quality of education and generate further improvements. Time to read some news:
Applicants For Education Degree Programme Must Sit Test, Interview
KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) — Starting from the 2007/2008 academic session, all applicants for the Bachelor of Education programme at public institutions of higher learning must sit for a test and interview.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said the decision was reached at a coordination meeting between his ministry and the Education Ministry.
This would ensure the quality of graduates and make it easy for them to be absorbed into the education service by the Education Ministry, he said in a statement today.
For the coming academic session, the applicants will sit for the Malaysian Educators Selection Inventory (MEdSI) Test this Saturday and only those who pass the test will be called for interview in the fourth week of this month.
Details on the test and interview centres can be obtained at the Higher Education Ministry’s website at http://www.mohe.gov.my and for further information, the applicants can contact the ministry’s Student Intake Management Division of the Higher Education Institute Management Department by phone at 03-88835801/5802, helpline 03-88835848 or hotline 03-88835858.
Ten public institutions of higher learning offer the Bachelor of Education programme for candidates with Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), matriculation certificates, diplomas and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM).
– BERNAMA
However, there is a catch in that statement (which I hope is just my wild imagination). Since the test is a tool to identify potential candidate, it can be used to identify almost anything based on customized preferences. If someone is up to no good, he or she can easily identify those who are capable of being branwashed so that upon graduation these people will be supporting and obeying the cause / plot.
Am I thinking way too much? I certainly hope so….
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