Thursday, June 17, 2004

Biasedness and Racism(PROCEED WITH EXTREME MATURITY AND CAUTION)

The net is a powerful tool to state your honest(sometimes dumbright silly)opinion.The issue of the racial gap has resurfaced in one of the blogs I came across.Since I have much to say,I guess it will be better if I dedicate a blotry(blog entry?) to it. I think I mention before in my previous blog that our education system needs a revamp.Basically it is the policy that was discreetly(read unwritten;unspoken;say-it-you-will-minum-kopi-with-ISA ppl)undertaken by our government in awarding university places and scholarships to undeserving one.What do I mean by undeserving one?People who score well in examination yet rich enough to own a Mercedes Benz 500S don't deserve the full scholarship.People who don't score as well as those "lucky 128" yet got the places in the universities,they too don't deserve this.And maybe less heard,people who belong to the top 50 scorers in STPM in the country yet can't get his/her first choice of study.Maybe there are other criterias that are to be examined before one is admitted into the university or awarded a scholarship.For example,in the matter of scholarship awarded,the finances of the family should really be closely scrutinised before the award.A scholarship offer is a good way to reward a student for his/her achievements,that,I agree but I guess a 50% scholarship will do and the money "saved" can be used to sponsor those good students who are not financially able,not necessarily at tertiary level,but also at secondary,primary and pre-school.I personally feel this should be the case as to reinforce the the stand that everyone should be given an equal (or close to equal)chance at the best possible education. As for placement of university,I wonder what the considerations are.Distance from the applicant's hometown and availability are the common reasons given.Of course,the applicants would have taken the location of the university into consideration when putting their first choice of university.If you are one of the top 50 scorers in a national level exam and you can't get the first choice of study,the first thing that should come to mind is "There are only 49 places offered in the university"(Ok...lame joke) but instead of that,the first thing that comes to my mind now is the selection process must have been tampered by unknown force or a biased policy. As for entry into university,I am all for a national-level university entry test for there are basically two different systems currently that allow the students to enter public tertiary education institutions.As far as I am informed,the 2 systems are quite different,one incorporates internal assessment which can be really biased at times or open to biasness and one that doesn't.I am opting for a more reliable and objective assessment which is minimally affected by human's idiosyncrasies.However,I can't say for certain in the terms of the interview that are being carried out for public university entry for I have not enough information.Thus,I reserved my comments here until I have learned more about it. Our education system in my opinion,is the culprit behind all the racial gap.One person,let's say A feels he/she is better(in all fields) and academically more qualified than the B.A nd B get to know each other albeit not for long.However,B got into the university and course that A wants to get in due to some reasons which remain unknown to A.That's when dissent starts to sow in A.A then seek solace with his close group of friends who are normally of his own race.Coincidentally,a few of his friends too experienced the same thing as A.Thus,they start to recall and review where they went wrong in the whole process until someone shout out a similiarity,"They are of B race(coincidentally).That's why.Didn't you notice the trend?"Human being human,tends to look for fault most of the time in others when things go wrong.It is a primate defense mechanism.After all,A and his friends are human too.Soon words got around A's circle of friends,then,from one circle to another to another.......The story changes from bad to worse everytime it is mouthed.What an unfortunate coincidence that they(B's race) are of the same race!There,you got the seed of the racism! Review the events above.What is the thing that set A on a path to resent B's race?The fact that A doesnt' get the university of his choice without any sensible explaination provided.Maybe if someone can really provide him with a straightforward(probably brutal) answer,things would not have unfolded as the way it is above.It doesn't happen.Why is B accepted?He may have been outstanding,rising to the occasion in the interview(if there's any).B may have connections in the university(read underhand method) B maybe the son/daughter of some big shots.If the admission into university has been transparent and fair(seems to be not at the moment to me),racism will not have reared its ugly head.The situation is not going to get better especially when you hear some people known to you are complaining about not their low qualification but "kulit-fication."(This is not coined by me,I swear)The story of A and B still goes on and now comes in many different version and in different fields now including commercial and industry. Policy should be fair and should be as unfavoring as posibble,should not be outright biased if we are to live in a multiracial community.You favour one,you offend every other one. My 2 cents OMG OMG...I am going to get screwed for this post Anyway,guys if there's any comment,please put them as politely as possible.