Sick Dog

One of the things I looked forward to the most when I am back in town is Fang's warm and passionate greeting.

I did not get it for the first time in years yesterday.

Dad told me that he has been like this for days, quiet and down. We were quite perturbed by this, as our last dog, Hester, showed these signs too when he eventually died. No warm greetings, no playful hug, no nothing. Dead.

We took Fang to the vet's the next day.

Oh yea, he doesn't look very sick now. :)

The vet told us relieving news: it wasn't any major thing. Just that we have to stop sending Mr.Golden to the field to do his thing anymore, to avoid him catching any fleas and etc. Seems like the 'pariah' dogs mate there too, or so the vet said. An injection and the dog whimpers, 2 creams and the whole business was over.

He was still so...down.

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On another note, the Government has finally decided to set the limit on SPM subjects to 10, with the exception of religious schools:

Religious schools to have 11 subjects for the mean time

Only 10 subjects for SPM

Before everyone starts screaming, the religious schools, a.k.a sekolah agama, are given a grace period to adjust, and then starting from 2011, all students are only allowed to take 10 subjects. That is the status quo for now, if the government stops flip-flopping like a cheap Japanese slipper.

I am no educationalist or academician, but I am still concerned. What about the quality of the subjects? Will the subjects' syllabus be reviewed to match the Global age's requirements?

That should be the aim of the education system, is it not? I should think that if the quality level of each subjects is reasonable, then perhaps no students in their right mind will take more than they can afford to, unless they have big brains. I am thinking of the A Levels as I write this. No one will go and take 20 subjects in the A Levels I presume, unless...

Such a move by the government would be futile and seen as restricting the full ability of students if the quality per subject is still abysmal. Instead of setting such a ban, the subjects' syllabus should instead be reviewed over time to ensure that they are not obsolete. There are worries that the standard might even drop further to make the Ministry look good, that they made the correct choice and students are actually 'performing'. I should be very sad if that is going to be case. The Government should address these very real worries and start the arduous task of educating Malaysians, regardless of race and religion.