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The following is an article from TMI by Anas Alam Faizli. Education was institutionalized to formalize the process of knowledge acquisition and research in man’s quest for understanding. Earliest universities in the history of mankind namely Al-Azhar, Bologna, Oxford, Palencia, Cambridge and University of Naples (world’s first public university, 1224) have one thing in common; they were built by notable early world civilizations as institutions of research, discourse, learning, proliferation of knowledge and documentation. This contrasts largely from the role of universities today as institutions of human capital accreditation, qualification, and most unfortunately, business and profits. Ibnu Khaldun, father of historiography, sociology and economics, in his work Prolegomenon (Muqaddimah) argued that the government would only gain strength and sovereignty through its citizens. This strength can only be sustained by wealth, which can only be acquired through human capital development (e...

As we enter a new year, we reflect back on a year full of trials and tribulations. From the pending abolishment of PMR to the flitting about of PPSMI, from the Rawang school of terror to the plight of Orang Asli education , Malaysians have had their fair share of drama in the education scene.  Which is why, we have to look forward and strive to do much much better this year. Here's a list of 5 things  everybody from the government to the ordinary citizen should look into for the sake of our children. 1. A revamp of the History syllabus The issue: The History syllabus as it is, is too myopic in its scope. The Russian revolution, Ottoman Empire, Alexander the Great, Kublai Khan all used to be part of Malaysian history syllabus. It is little wonder that a complaint against fresh Malaysian graduates is that they lack general knowledge. Important figures of history like Yap Ah Loy have also been reduced to a mere footnote. The History Syllabus is also incredibly rigid: the ...

Click here for full version. Over the course of the next week, we will be carrying/ publishing several articles on the TIMMS findings. In the meantime, do pore over the results presented in neat infographic form, and Merry Christmas! 

Greetings fellow concerned citizens! You're probably quite surprised reading this post ( and hopefully we still have a readership) after such a long hiatus. As it is, John Lee has been quite occupied with his writings, Tony has been equally busy with his work in DAP, and of course our dear Kian Ming also has his hands full, zipping around in his newly found role as Election Coordinator in the DAP. And so, here I am.  Who? Yup, that's me.  Well, my name is Ong Kar Jin. Some people call me KJ for short, but especially for socio-politically related matters it isn't the best set of initials to have! (And I imagine you must know why!)  Anyway, to keep it short I'm a student doing the International Baccalaureate, and possibly heading to the USA next year ( I have an offer from Yale College). I have written for as well as worked with activists from Loyarburok and UndiMsia,  and I was also an intern and still contributing writer at REFSA , which some of you may know as the...

At this time of the year, EconJobMarket (EJM) gets a lot of support requests from candidates about specifying their references and about communicating with them.  Here are a few common questions and answers related to references (also called “recommenders”): 1. How are reference accounts established in EJM? EJM has a large database of references.  A new reference account is established whenever a candidate specifies a reference for an application and provides the proper identification for this person (including the reference’s own email address), and when the reference does not already have an account.  The database has been constructed over the past few years.  If your references provided letters on job-market candidates in the past, they probably already have reference accounts with EJM.  In this case, when you submit an application via EJM and give your references’ names and email addresses, they will be shown as already in the database. 2. Are my references ...

Junior candidate: As the of the application phase of the job market begins, you are surely working diligently on your job-market packet and plans for the coming months.   You may have some questions about how to handle the process and what to expect.   Those of us associated with EconJobMarket (EJM) have relevant experience on both sides of the market (working to place graduate students, recruiting for our own departments, and also as candidates ourselves).   Like most faculty members, we are in the habit of doling out advice, solicited or not.   So, for what it’s worth, here is a short list of common questions and answers.   These questions are geared toward the Ph.D. student who plans to graduate at the end of this academic year.   Most also apply to candidates who have already completed a Ph.D. degree. 1. Whom should I rely on to provide guidance? Your main dissertation advisor, along with others on your dissertation committee, should be your primary so...

I am an economics professor at UC San Diego, one of the founders of EconJobMarket (EJM), and the current CEO/Director of EJM.  I and the other EJM directors decided to start this blog as a way of providing information and tips during the job-market season. There are several reasons why we are doing this.  First, this blog is a place where we can post answers to questions and support requests that we routinely receive, but written in a more comprehensive way than is common with a long list of "frequently asked questions."  Users of EJM (candidates, recruiters, references/proxies) often ask for information about features of the EJM system and for help using the web site.  We hope that by providing some details here, and then referring people to blog posts, we can communicate more efficiently.  (We are running EJM as volunteers, so any time savings is a plus.)  Second, we'll use this blog to provide general advice for candidates on how the market works, what t...