...did you say illiterate!

Don't be shocked or alarmed. This is Malaysia I'm writing about. This is about the things you may think only existed in the past. 

** In Malaysia, parents enroll their tots in "tadika" (Kindergarten) at age 3-5.

1. In Malaysia, at year 7 children are enrolled in schools. (compulsory)

2. Children are enrolled in various national type of schools, boarding schools, private schools and /or vernacular schools.

3. Students, the majority are accessed and gauged in various examination methods, curriculum activities and other self-styled school exams.

4. At year 12, students finish their primary and move on to secondary education.

5. At age 15, students sit for their compulsory SRP exams.

6. After SRP, they proceed to Form 4 and later are streamed into Arts or Science stream.

7. In Malaysia, at age 17, students take their "killer" SPM exams.

8. This exam decides if students are eligible to go on to do their Pre-U studies (matriculation) or to continue to Form 6. Many would option to go on to colleges and other institute of higher learning including Teacher's Training college, Military college, Vocational college and many more.

8. At 18, students are randomly selected to go for National Service. Failure in enrolment entails a jail sentence. ( I really don't know how this works out )

In all, a student from age 3 to 17 goes through various stages of education in our Malaysian schools to prepare them for various endeavours they would take up and chart their career path. 

But alas all that, comes the startling discovery ....

...the Defence Ministry of Malaysia revealed nearly 1,000 out of 11,000 youths drafted to undergo National Service training from last year’s third batch were illiterate.

Question :

1. What were these students doing in school for the past 17 or more years?
2. What were the teachers doing with such students?
3. Didn't the Ministry of Education not know of there being "illiterate" students?
4. What will these students do when they are out of schools?

( I knew of a student at age 15 who couldn't write his own 5 letter name. He later "disappeared" from school and was never to be heard ever.)

But one question keeps reeling in me :

Being illiterate, and in spite of all the exams they take in school, how did these "lesser-educated-students" able to move from year 7 to year 17 and not know how to learn, read or write?

Someone, once said, I remember well... there is nothing wrong with the schools or the teachers in Malaysia, its the student and the system.

Are you sure?

Here's a tinker : If you're a parent and you've an illiterate kid, what do you do?