KUALA LUMPUR: MORE Malaysians can now be enrolled in international schools  locally as the country moves to further liberalise its education With immediate  effect, the Education Ministry has decided to do away with the previous 40 per  cent quota for local students in the nearly 100 such schools now operating.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, who confirmed the move,  told the New Sunday Times yesterday that “we decided on this as it is in line  with the government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to make the  country a regional education hub”.

He stressed that the lifting of the quota was necessary because “we have to  compete with neighbouring countries in the educational field”.

He said Singapore and Thailand had already lifted their quotas and Malaysia  needed to follow suit.

“The ministry has endorsed the change and we are implementing the  move  with immediate effect.”

He  said the decision also followed the many requests from Malaysian  parents for more places for their children in international schools.

Sri Kuala Lumpur International School chief executive officer Hanif Othman  Merican, when contacted, said they had yet to receive the directive from the  ministry, but he welcomed the move.

“There is a demand for more places from local students and the decision will  open the doors for greater enrolment,” he said.

Asked about plans to increase the number of students in the school, he said  there was none at the moment.

Hanif also said there may not be an increase in  fees although there  would be more local students seeking admission.

Meanwhile, Parent Action Group for Education (Page) president Datin Noor  Azimah Abdul Rahim disagreed with the move as she said  this  would  create “a new social divide between communities of different socio-economic  levels”.

She added that  parents who could afford the fees would send their  children to international schools, while the rest of the children would be  enrolled in national schools.

Noor Azimah pointed out that  this could result in reduced  competitiveness among  students in national schools   because   the more brighter ones would be studying in international  schools.

SHAH ALAM: It will take another 10 to 15 years for the country’s education system to be on par or better than that of developed nations.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the realistic target was set so that the existing education system could be reviewed and benchmarked against the developed countries.

“The people have high expectations of the standard of the education system in the country. Our benchmark is not just to be excellent but par excellence in comparison with the developed countries,” Muhyiddin said in his speech when launching the 10th anniversary celebration of SK Bukit Jelutong yesterday.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, added that although the present benchmark was good, it was still not up to international standards.

“We want to benchmark ourselves against the developed nations and not with the countries which are lagging behind in their development,” he added.

“The quality of teachers is the first issue that will be addressed in our effort to boost the education system. We will look into teacher training and the roles played by teachers inside and outside of the classroom in the review,” he added.

The Government had formed a panel last year comprising educationists and corporate leaders to review the education system in nine priority areas.

The priorities include teachers, school leaders, school quality, curriculum and evaluation and multi-lingual proficiency.

The blueprint for education reforms would be ready by August after taking into account all findings and feedback from the ongoing series of dialogues with the public and interested parties from now till July.

Muhyiddin also said the low poverty rate of 2% was the result of the education system in the country.

“No one can deny that our education system has contributed to the success that we enjoy today,” he said.

He also announced an allocation of RM2mil for the school’s new hall. SK Bukit Jelutong has over 2,500 pupils.

To commence work on future support for trainees and Fellows in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, and a new partnership with our sister colleges in the region, ANZCA President, Professor Kate Leslie, and President-elect, Dr Lindy Roberts, met with ANZCA Fellows and trainees, and leaders from the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists in Hong Kong on Friday April 27.
Three areas of support and collaboration were discussed:

1.    Support for trainees Trainees were concerned about provisions for those who chose to complete ANZCA training. The areas of concern were noted and will inform discussions about the package to be provided. Trainees and their supervisors will be consulted during this process and these provisions will be finalised by the ANZCA Council at its June 2012 meeting.

2.    Support for Fellows Fellows were reassured that the decision to withdraw from training does not affect the privileges and opportunities available to ANZCA Fellows resident in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

3.    Inter-collegiate collaboration The Hong Kong College leaders joined with ANZCA in supporting a new partnership among colleges in the region that includes collaboration in education, training and assessment; continuing medical education; quality and safety; research and international aid. Work will commence on this initiative shortly.
On behalf of ANZCA Council, Professor Leslie and Dr Roberts expressed their gratitude to the Fellows, trainees and supervisors who participated in these meetings. The findings from the visit will be discussed by the Executive Committee at their next meeting and this message will be updated as progress is made.

THE recent tragic death of a young doctor (The Star, April 12) has led to renewed discussions on the working conditions and training of housemen in Malaysia. In initial news reports, working long hours was implicated as a source of stress for the young doctor.

In fact, the complaints about “long working hours” of housemen had been forthcoming for some time and the Health Ministry implemented a flexi-hours system for housemen in the third quarter of last year.

The Malaysian Medical Associa­tion (MMA) has been monitoring the system since its implementation, and has continually sought feedback from housemen as well as from medical officers (MOs) and specialists involved in houseman training.

We have called on the ministry to carry out a comprehensive review of the new system, not just in terms of the workload of the housemen but, more importantly, in terms of how it affects their training.

Based on feedback, we are concerned about the reduction in houseman training time, resulting in inadequate exposure to patients, limited opportunities for observing and performing basic procedures and operations, and lack of continuity of care for patients.

We would like to emphasise that the housemanship training period is a critical time in a doctor’s career, the time when he/she applies all that he/she has learnt during medical school in real-life situations – fully supervised by more senior doctors.

It is thus extremely important that the young doctor uses this time to learn, and to gain as much experience as possible, as it will be the foundation of his/her future career in medicine.

The medical profession is such that one cannot work “by the clock”. Sickness does not recognise “office hours” or “shift times”.

When caring for a sick patient, e.g. someone who has just been admitted or someone who has taken a turn for the worse, a doctor has to examine, send for the necessary tests, and do the needful to resuscitate and stabilise the patient before “clocking out”.

The nature of the profession calls for such a commitment and dedication, and this culture is instilled in us during our formative years – medical school and housemanship.

Young doctors are also taught to put their patients’ interests and welfare first, before their own.

Sadly, this culture of commitment and caring seems to be getting lost in the name of improving “quality of life”.

This brings up what is, in our opinion, a more important negative impact of the flexi-hours system – the possibility that this will result in doctors lacking a sense of responsibility for a patient.

While discussing the plight of young house officers, the equally (or more) strenuous working hours of MOs and specialists in government hospitals may have been forgotten.

Training and supervision of housemen is the responsibility of MOs and specialists in the respective departments, who are already overworked with patient care.

These more senior doctors are finding it difficult to cope with training the large numbers of house officers being posted to our public hospitals, especially the many who lack basic medical knowledge and skills.

Which of course brings into question the quality of our medical graduates now. In this regard, the MMA welcomes the recently tabled amendments to the Medical Act 1971 which includes a proposal for the establishment of a Medical Qualifying Committee to look into the accreditation of qualifications of both local and international training institutions.

However, we are disappointed that the original proposal – for a common qualifying examination for medical graduates – was set aside.

We call upon the Malaysian Medical Council to carefully examine the quality of medical schools (local and international) and to take the necessary action where shortfalls in quality occur.

With regard to training of housemen, the MMA feels strongly that decisions on these matters should be left to medical professionals, with no external interference from parents, politicians or others.

As doctors, we know what training is needed to produce a good doctor, and hard work and long hours are certainly some of the necessary “evils” that we cannot escape from!

The MMA calls on the ministry to ensure that the number of house doctors posted to each unit is based on the number of trainers (i.e. specialists and MOs) available.

Only then will specialists and medical officers be able to guide each houseman in the right direction.

The MMA would also like to recognise the specialist and medical officers who have continued to train housemen despite being overworked themselves.

Dr MARY SUMA CARDOSA, President, MMA.

Liow: The medical graduates can now take the exam an unlimited number of times instead of three previously.

KUCHING: Medical graduates from unrecognised universities overseas can now sit for the Medical Qualifying Examination (MQE) at all 16 medical schools in the country, including private universities.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said previously these graduates could only sit for the exam at three local universities – Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

“From now onwards they can sit for the exam in all medical schools in Malaysia. We have 16 medical schools offering 17 medical programmes.

“All students coming back from unrecognised universities overseas can sit for the exam in all these universities,” he told reporters after holding a dialogue with several Sarawakian medical graduates who earned their degrees in China here on Tuesday.

The 16 universities are UM, UKM, USM, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Penang Medical College, International Medical University, AIMST University, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Monash University Sunway Campus, UCSI University, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, and Management and Science University.

Liow said this move would make it easier for medical graduates to sit for the MQE, particularly Sarawakian students who would no longer need to travel to Kuala Lumpur for it.

“They prefer to take the exam here because the cost will be lower,” he said, adding that this was one of the problems brought up by the graduates during the dialogue session.

Liow also announced that the medical graduates could now take the exam an unlimited number of times.

“In the past it was limited to three times. Now they can sit for it unlimited times to make sure they pass,” he said.

Medical graduates from unrecognised universities need to pass the MQE in order to start their housemanship and be registered as medical doctors in Malaysia.

In addition, Liow said the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) was currently in the process of recognising medical programmes in China.

He said MMC would focus on accrediting the 11 top universities in China first as many Malaysian students were studying there.

He said although Malaysia and China had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on recognising the universities, medical courses needed to be accredited by MMC.

“MMC will visit the universities in China to accredit their medical degrees so that we can recognise them as soon as we can,” Liow said, adding that MMC would try to complete the accreditation process in one year’s time.

At present, MMC recognises 375 universities in over 30 countries, not including China.

KLUANG: Malaysia is optimistic of having a doctor-population ratio of 1:400 by the year 2020, beating the World Health Organisation’s standard of 1:600.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the Government was confident of meeting the standard despite currently facing a shortage of doctors with a ratio of only 1:800.

He said the ministry was however on track to achieve WHO’s standard of a doctor-population ratio of 1:600 by 2015.

“We are optimistic that we can do better than WHO’s recommendation,” he told reporters after visiting the new Kluang Hospital in conjunction with the MCA roadshow here yesterday.

Liow said the present shortage of doctors was quite high with 60% vacancies that needed to be filled nationwide.

Several measures, he added, had been drawn up to increase the number of doctors and medical graduates, with the country producing about 3,500 every year.

“With the continuing efforts and measures to increase the number of medical personnel, the country can achieve its target,” he said.

At the event, Liow said the ministry would also provide Kluang Hospital with CT scan facilities worth RM5mil and 25 doctors, including specialists.

He also said the hospital needed an additional 150 nurses and other staff, adding that he would talk to the Public Service Department soon on resolving the matter.

4800 New Teachers

PETALING JAYA: The Education Ministry is taking steps to ensure Bachelor of Education graduates from public universities (IPTAs) will be absorbed in schools from May.

Over 4,800 new graduate teachers from IPTAs will receive their posting next month.

“A total of 4,671 graduate teachers will be sent to schools on May 23 while another 150 graduate teachers will be posted in July,” Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in a statement.

He revealed that the Education Services Commission had interviewed 4,953 candidates from IPTAs.

Only graduate teachers from IPTAs will receive their postings while graduates from private institutions of higher education (IPTS) will not be called for an interview by the commission yet.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, explained that graduate teachers from IPTAs were given preference over those from IPTS because their intake and the subjects they majored in were planned by the ministry.

Graduate teachers from IPTAs had earlier experessed concern over a delay in their      posting.

In Ranau, Sabah, Muhyiddin, who was on a two-day visit to the state, said the education system needed a revamp to produce a new breed of experts and skilled workers.

He said the current system had been adequate but the time had come to elevate it further to ensure the country achieved its goals.

“We must place importance on education to meet the manpower needs of the country,” he said when opening SMK Ranau and handing over of land to Institut Aminuddin Baki.

Malaysia, he said, would need another 3.3 million new workers in the next eight years in addition to the existing 12 million.

Meanwhile, at a dialogue in Kota Kinabalu later with the DPM, teachers said they were not given any special allowance for teaching the Kadazandusun language.

Muhyiddin urged teachers who were about to retire to properly plan for their golden years.

Also at the event were Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman and Ex-Education Officers Association of Malaysia Sabah branch chairman Datuk Khamis Noyo.

TAPAH: The Health Ministry has identified 22 public and private universities which will provide specialist medical services in 22 district hospitals nationwide.

Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the universities were among 33 public and private universities in the country that offer medical courses.

He described it as a smart partnership as the hospitals would provide all the necessary facilities while the universities would send their lecturers who are also medical experts with various specialisations.

He said the collaboration would result in more patients receiving specialist treatment with a shorter waiting period.

“It is a win-win solution for the ministry, universities and the public,” he said after witnessing the signing of the smart partnership between the ministry and nine universities at the Tapah Hospital yesterday.

The ministry was represented by its secretary-general Datuk Kamarul Zaman Md Isa while the nine universities were represented by their vice-chancellors or top officials.

The nine universities that inked the partnership agreement were Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman that would provide specialist medical service at the Tapah Hospital, Management and Science University (Kuala Kubu Baru Hospital), Perdana University (Bentong Hospital), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Serian Hospital), UCSI University (Dungun Hospital), Lincoln University College (Lahad Datu Hospital), Allianze University College of Medical Sciences (Kepala Batas Hospital), Melaka Manipal Medical College (Jasin Hospital) and Mahsa University College (Tanjung Karang Hospital).

Liow said the signing ceremony with the remaining 13 universities would be held later.

“The partnership will help ease congestion at main hospitals and increase the bed occupancy rate at district hospitals,” he said, adding that priority areas include internal medicine, general surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopedic and anaesthesiology.

Under the Graduate Medical Officer Flexi Timetable system, introduced last September, housemen can only work up to 60 hours a week with two days off. But implementation has been reportedly poor at some hospitals.

Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman said the ministry would seek explanations from hospitals found overworking their housemen, adding that the ministry was willing to help them implement the system effectively if they were facing a shortage of housemen.

However, he said he had checked timetables in Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Ampang Hospital, Serdang Hospital, Klang Hospital, Selayang Hospital and Sungai Buloh Hospital but had not seen any houseman made to work for more than five days a week or to do double shifts.

Earlier, Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Mary Cardosa urged the ministry to review the shift system and conduct a study on the mental health of junior doctors.

On the death of Dr Lee Chang Tat, 29, who was found dead in a restroom of the paediatrics ward at Kajang Hospital with a used syringe beside him, she said there was no data to show the number of housemen who suffered from depression due to their long working hours and stress.

“There should be some kind of mechanism to assist troubled doctors, whether they have personal or work-related problems or can’t handle the stress.”

The Malaysian Medical Council, meanwhile, reviews an average of five cases of doctors with mental health issues each month. It is learnt that there were 20 cases last October.

“Most of them are housemen, but we have also heard cases on medical officers,” said former Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican.

“The types of issues range from psychiatric problems to anxiety and coping problems,” Dr Ismail said.

Dr Ismail, who is also former MMC chairman, said the working hours for housemen may not be as demanding as before the shift system was implemented, but they were exposed to other sources of stress in their work including demands from patients, their superiors and other colleagues,” he added.

System that’s a burden to many housemen

KUALA LUMPUR: A trainee doctor was found dead in a restroom at Kajang Hospital.

Police believe he had overdosed on an unidentified drug.

Lee Chang Tat, 29, was found dead in the men’s room of the paediatric ward at 7am yesterday by hospital staff who went looking for him after they noticed that he was missing.

He was found with a used syringe beside him, which police believe he had used to inject himself with a drug to fight off fatigue.

It is learnt that Lee, who had been working at the hospital for the past three years, had been working on call for five consecutive days.

Selangor health director Datuk Dr Azman Abu Bakar said hospital staff, who found Lee, tried to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful.

“He was rushed to the emergency room but it was too late,” he said.

Lee, he stressed, had no previous medical problems.

A security guard at the hospital said they found him when someone tried calling Lee on his handphone and heard the ringing tone coming from the restroom.

“We broke into the toilet cubicle and found him lying there with the needle,” he said.

Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab said Lee, who studied medicine in Uruguay, had been complaining to his family about the hectic working hours.

“His family said he had also been planning to go on a holiday to Cambodia soon with friends,” he said.

ACP Abdul Rashid confirmed that an initial post-mortem indicated that Lee had died of an overdose, adding that the case was being investigated as sudden death.