Malaysian education system is good, true or false

Malaysian students enjoy a better educational system than their counterparts in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany based on the recent Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia was ranked 14th overall in terms of the quality of the educational system, and second after Singapore among Asean countries.

When we check the country profile highlight of the report, it mentions “As it moves toward becoming more innovation driven, Malaysia will need to improve its performance in education and technological readiness. In the latter dimension, the country places a low 44th, with room for improvement in technological adoption by both businesses and the population at large. In terms of higher education and training (38th), improving access remains a priority in light of low enrolment rates of 69 percent (101st) and 36 percent (66th) for secondary and tertiary education, respectively.”

In that sense, there are lots of room for improvement before we can say with conviction that we have a 'better educational system” without doubling over with uncontrollable giggles.

I guess we are desperate to grab at any indication that our education system is at par with the best in the world that we keep harping how we have leap frogged the traditional homes of educational excellence such as the United States and the United Kingdom. The ordinary folks have always wondered why the children of the elites are not enrolled in the national schools, if we have such a good system. The proof is in the pudding, right? We are not asking for sacrificial lambs but if the leaders say the system is good for the gander shouldn't it be good for the goose too?

Image from thefangroups