By Ahmad Faizuddin
Today the number of students who decided to continue their college education is higher than before. This is because of the growing demand of the market and those seeking a better career upon graduation. As a result, the goals of education has become more complex. Some college education might loosen on application standards. The new educational methods and technologies might engage students in critical and creative thinking, but fail to prepare them for the challenges in real world situation.
During the keynote address at the Asia-Pacific Conference on Education and Training (ACET) 2015, the Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, stated that the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) is the pathway of the 21st century and the way forward that could potentially close the existing gap in the economies of the globe. Thus, to keep up with the current global trends, there should be innovative strategies to prepare graduates with competencies that match with the pace of today’s economies.
It is a positive indication to see strong efforts at collaboration among Asia Pacific countries especially to formulate a framework for TVET. However, the issue is more serious than just providing employment opportunities or attracting career pathway for students.
Today’s educational development faces difficulties for the knowledge obtained from schools to be put into practice. I met several high school leavers who are struggling to determine or to choose the area they want to specialise in. On the other hand, colleges and higher education provide opportunities for students to experiment with different courses. It will take them some time before they find their definite focus or interest. In the end, not all students are successful to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle for a particular career when they graduate from college.
Some scholars argue that education cannot save our society, but the way we educate will change the world. The explosion of information requires college students to memorise unnecessary facts. We push our students towards general knowledge in which they will soon forget the information after graduation. Instead of focusing on academic writing assignments and examinations, the curriculum should include practical knowledge and skills. This will help students in overcoming the gap in career progress.
Higher education should equip students with the concept of career readiness. Our final direction should be determined during the studies. It is apparent that most of the students will choose less challenging coursework that requires less work for a higher grade. How could we expect them to be career ready then? Once they obtained good marks, they will leave the coursework behind and forget about it. Different courses might help students gain general knowledge, but they could hinder the development of genuine talents and life goals. We should therefore equip students with certain skills so that they would be ready to face their career.
Certain prominent corporate bodies like PETRONAS, Telekom Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional had been given approval by the government to set up private universities. They had established PETRONAS University, Multimedia University and Uniten respectively. These private universities have the advantages of being new and came into being at about the same time the Internet and globalisation phenomena were gathering momentum. However, public universities, being more established, carry with them a heavy baggage of the old economy paradigms and have developed a bureaucratic structure for their operations.
Many college graduates actually stop learning upon graduation. The academic degree may not have prepared them for the actual job, but it should have taught them how to learn. Some graduates mistakenly believe that a higher academic qualification will help them land a good job. What differentiate one graduate from another are their competencies. Employers obviously favour those who possess competencies. Therefore, public universities need to rediscover their relevance and role in nation building. The quality and reputation of a university should not be measured by the quantity of graduates produced, but rather by the industry demand for the graduates.
One bold approach for graduates who are unable to get a job is for them to create their own job. No doubt, it is easier said than done. But, why get employed with other organisations when there are so many opportunities out there for graduates to become entrepreneurs? Be it traditional entrepreneurs, a franchise entrepreneurs or network entrepreneurs. There are many organisations looking for bright and young graduates who are willing to trade the security of fixed-pay jobs for an entrepreneurial position that will potentially pay more than what graduates can expect from a certain job.
At the end, as James H. Douglas Jr. said, “A good job is more than just a pay-check. A good job fosters independence and discipline, and contributes to the health of the community.”***
The writer is a PhD student at the Kulliyyah of Education, Educational Management and Leadership, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)Photo courtesy of Youth Ki Awaaz