Webinar: The Rights of Future Generations
3rd March 2021
IKIM Kuala Lumpur
“To accomplish the rights of future generations, there must be true development and proper education for our youth. In your experience with the youth, what is your view and suggestion to improve on this?”
By Jufitri Joha
President of Malaysia Youth Council
“We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
The youths are comprised of about 14.7 million of the total Malaysian population. This means that almost half of Malaysians are part of the youth. They are the nation’s greatest asset and thus must be educated and their skills be polished for the greater Malaysian future.
The youths are deemed as the reflection of the future, should they be full of morals today, then the future is safe. Therefore, the youths are both the future generation as well as the generation that will inherit this great country. Today they are called the Generation Z and the Generation Alpha born after 1995 and 2010 respectively.
From my perspective, both of these future generations must be trained to unleash their true potential for them to face the uncertain future as characterized by Professor James Canton, CEO Institute for Global Futures as the extreme future. Professor James mentions of how the youths must be made ready to deal with this extreme future so they can be prepared as a future smart youth rather than a future frustrated youth.
There was a time when the youth were given the widest of opportunities to contribute their view of the future through the National Transformation Agenda 2050 (TN 50) as they are the ones who will realise the future that they dream of. Their views and voices must be taken into consideration by the current leader specifically the Ministry of Youth & Sports.
For a time, Malaysian Youth Council (MBM) have once suggested to proclaim a youth rights charter to ensure specific youth rights such as the right to education, right to heard, right to realise their potential and the right for bipartisanship in policymaking or adult youth decision making so that their rights are protected.
As a matter of sharing, Malaysia youth development stakeholders adopted Commonwealth policy’s Youth Mainstreaming. Commonwealth defines Youth Mainstreaming as:
“Strategies for intergenerational equity and justice that enable young people’s capabilities, participation and human rights to be an integral dimension of the analysis, design, implementation and monitoring & evaluation of policies and programmes in inter-sectoral planning across all social, political and economic spheres. It enables young people and adults to benefit equally from, and contribute equally to, development outcomes”.
Hence, education is the best route to train and ensure their readiness for their encounter with the challenging and uncertain future. Education is a right for the current future generation.
Education must not only make them effective citizens but also a servant of Allah as well as a khalifah. Education allows youths to discover their identity, purpose and meaning of life and only will then they discover their talent and potential.
Education has lost the essence of the National Education Philosophy for focusing solely on securing job employments as quickly as possible and not train them to be a useful human being seeking knowledge and Allah Taala’s pleasure.
Based on my observations, the youths must also be equipped with tasauf and dakwah knowledge so that they will be equipped with pure and sublime morals. It is critically important that they are guided by teachers with murabbi and muaddib characteristics who not only teach, but also educate.
Apart from formal education, the youths will be more effectively educated through informal education. In the formal sector, they receive academic education meanwhile in the informal sector, they learn the meaning of life as well as their identity. John Laskaris (2015) outlines 6 benefits of informal learning. 2 of them are i.) Learning informally is more relaxing and less threatening for most people including young people. With no exams or projects to complete within limited schedules, many learners commit to learning a new skill or a concept readily; and ii.) Informal learning is close to natural learning. People tend to follow the pathway that best suits their individual needs. Lifelong learning is a great example of informal learning. We acquire more knowledge informally than formally.
Both of these types of education must be equitably well-rounded. In the context of national administration, the Education and High Education Ministries represent formal education meanwhile the Youth Ministry represent informal education. All three ministries must cooperate to develop a holistic education for the right of the future generation.
Youth development lies within the informal sector where they are taught to discover their self-worth and living under God’s guidance in youth development programs and youth movements that encompasses leadership, volunteerism, skills, entrepreneurship and international involvements.
They are also trained through mentorship in which an assigned mentor acts as a role model for the youths similarly in a Tareqat, there is a sheikh and student. In an Usrah, there is a Naqib and the Usrah members. This mechanism is very effective in guiding the youths.
In this context as well, KBS and MBM are currently developing a professional youth work ecosystem to create a new profession regarding professional youth work or a professional youth worker with a qualified academic background in youth development as well as trained with youth guidance skills. A professional youth worker is either a full-time or part-time career in guiding youths with full ethics. They will be housed in youth centres and act as an informal school for the youths. During the day they have formal schools and afterwards they will be at the youth centres.
Malaysian Youth Council (MBM) also founded the Youth Improvement Philosophy atau Falsafah Pengislahan Belia (FPB) as the true philosophy that navigates the stakeholders such as KBS and MBM for youth development. The term “islah” is used not for only developing the good values but also at the same time erasing the terrible embedded values. It also not only accompanies the physical youth development such as employment, entrepreneurship and personality but also the internal development aspect such as the morals and leadership ethics. If the formal education contains the National Education Philosophy (FPN) therefore the informal education contains the Youth Improvement Philosophy (FPB).
FPB will be the guiding philosophy that completes the Malaysian Youth Policy (DBM) 2015-2035 which puts Positive Youth Development (PYD) as its core in which the outcome of PYD is to give birth to youths that have the 8C – caring; competent; character; confident; cooperation; considerate; competitive; & contribution.
It is really important that the informal education sector is developed so that the youths will be able to learn effectively through social learning over a variety of topics.
There is no need to further add onto the civic education taught at schools such as road safety awareness, unity, disaster management awareness, drug awareness, crime and so forth as they are better suited to be taught in an informal setting in the informal education sector such as youth development.
Hence, I believe that informal education is a sector that needs to be developed and institutionalised alongside formal education for the rights of the future generations.
VERSI BAHASA MELAYU
“We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
Belia membentuk 14.7 juta orang daripada keseluruhan penduduk Malaysia. Ini bermakna hampir separuh penduduk Malaysia adalah anak muda. Ini merupakan aset terpenting negara yang harus dididik dan digilap bakatnya demi masa depan Malaysia.
Belia dianggap cerminan masa depan Negara, baik akhlak belia hari ini maka baiklah masa depan Negara. Justeru belia dianggap generasi masa depan sekaligus generasi pewaris Negara. Mereka inilah yang digelar sebagai Generasi Z dan Generasi Alpha yang lahir selepas 1995 dan selepas 2010.
Daripada perspektif saya, kedua-dua generasi inilah merupakan generasi yang digelar sebagai generasi masa hadapan yang harus dididik dan diserlahkan potensi (unleash their potential) mereka untuk berhadapan dengan masa depan yang tidak menentu dan apa yang disifatkan oleh Profesor James Canton, CEO Institute for Global Futures sebagai extreme future. Maka Profesor James menyebutkan bahawa mereka harus dipersiapkan untuk berhadapan dengan extreme future sebagai future smart youth dan bukan future frustrated youth.
Pada suatu ketika, belia diberikan peluang seluas-luasnya untuk memberikan pandangan mereka tentang masa depan melalui Agenda Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN 50) kerana merekalah yang menentukan masa depan yang mereka impikan. Suara dan pandangan mereka itu harus diambil kira oleh pemerintah masa kini khususnya Kementerian Belia dan Sukan Malaysia.
Suatu ketika, Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM) pernah mencadangkan untuk diproklamasikan youth charter untuk menjamin hak asasi spesifik untuk belia seperti hak pendidikan, hak untuk diserlahkan potensi dan hak untuk berpartisipasi dalam pembuatan polisi dan dasar agar hak mereka terjamin.
Justeru pendidikan adalah jalan terbaik untuk mendidik dan mempersiapkan belia ini untuk berhadapan dengan masa depan yang mencabar. Pendidikan adalah hak generasi masa hadapan kini.
Pendidikan harus menjadikan mereka bukan sahaja warganegara yang efektif tetapi menjadi hamba Allah dan juga khalifah. Pendidikan membantu belia mengenal makna diri, jati diri dan identiti diri kemudian barulah mereka akan mengenal dan bakat dan potensi diri.
Pendidikan telah banyak melupakan roh Falsafah Pendidikan Negara kerana terlalu mengejar kepada mempersiapkan belia mendapatkan pekerjaan semata-mata dan bukannya mendidik mereka menjadi manusia berguna dan mencari ilmu serta redha Allah Taala. Akhirnya kita mempersiapkan generasi masa depan yang literate but uneducated. Mereka berpelajaran tetapi masih terlibat dalam rasuah, salah guna kuasa dan terlibat dalam jenayah. Pendidikan nilai dan ruh wajib menjadi teras pendidikan sebenar yang menjadi seseorang belia itu mempunyai jiwa dan deria rasa (common sense).
Pada pemerhatian saya juga, belia harus dipertekankan dengan ilmu tasauf dan ilmu dakwah agar mereka mempunyai akhlak yang luhur dan murni. Justeru mereka harus dibimbing oleh guru yang mempunyai ciri-ciri murabbi dan muaddib yang bukan hanya mengajar tetapi mendidik.
Selain sektor pendidikan formal, belia terdidik dengan cara lebih terkesan di sektor pendidikan informal. Di sektor formal, mereka banyak mendapat pendidikan akademik manakala di sektor informal mereka banyak belajar makna diri dan hakikat kehidupan.
Kedua-dua sektor mesti saling lengkap melengkapi. Dalam konteks pentadbiran Negara, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi mewakili sektor formal manakala Kementerian Belia mewakili sektor informal. Ketiga-tiga harus bergabung tenaga bagi membentuk pendidikan bersepadu untuk hak generasi masa hadapan.
Pembangunan belia terletak dalam sektor informal di mana para belia banyak dididik dan diasuh dalam arena ini. Mereka belajar mengenal makna diri dan kehidupan bertuhan dalam program pembangunan belia dan gerakan belia melibatkan program kepimpinan, kesukarelawanan, kemahiran, keusahawanan dan pengantarabangsaan.
Mereka juga diasuh secara pementoran di mana mereka mempunyai mentor yang bertindak membimbing dan menunjuk contoh yang baik untuk mereka seumpama dalam tareqat ada sheikh dan murid dan dalam usrah ada naqib dan ahli usrah. Mekanisme ini amat berkesan dalam membimbing belia.
Dalam konteks ini juga, KBS dan MBM sedangkan membangunkan ekosistem kerja belia profesional bagi mewujudkan profesyen pekerja belia profesional atau professional youth worker yang mempunyai kelayakan akademik dalam bidang kerja belia atau pembangunan belia serta terlatih dengan kemahiran profesional membimbing belia. Professional youth woker merupakan kerjaya sepenuh masa atau separuh masa membimbing belia dengan penuh beretika. Mereka akan ditempatkan di pusat-pusat belia yang bertindak sebagai sekolah informal kepada belia. Di sebelah siang belia di sekolah manakala selepas waktu sekolah mereka di pusat belia.
Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM) juga cuba mengagaskan Falsafah Pengislahan Belia (FPB) sebagai falsafah sebenar yang memandu arah pemegang taruh seperti KBS dan MBM untuk membangunkan belia. Perkataan ‘islah’ digunakan kerana ia bukan sahaja membangunkan nilai-nilai yang baik dalam belia tetapi meruntuhkan nilai-nilai yang buruk dalam masa yang sama. Ia juga bermaksud sahaja memenuhi pembangunan fizikal belia seperti aspek pekerjaan, keusahawanan dan personaliti tetapi turut memenuhi aspek pembangunan dalaman seperti ruh, akhlak, etika kepimpinan. Jika pendidikan formal ada Falsafah Pendidikan Negara (FPN) maka pendidikan informal seperti pembangunan belia ada Falsafah Pengislahan Belia (FPB).
FPB akan menjadi falsafah pemandu (guiding philosophy) melengkapkan Dasar Belia Malaysia (DBM) 2015-2035 yang berteraskan pembangunan belia positif atau positive youth development (PYD) di mana outcome PYD adalah untuk melahirkan belia yang mempunyai 8 C – caring; competent; character; confident; cooperation; considerate; competitive; & contribution.
Demi masa depan sektor pendidikan informal wajar dibangunkan kerana belia akan dapat banyak belajar secara berkesan secara social learning mengenai pelbagai perkara.
Usah dilambakkan terlalu padat elemen pendidikan sivik dan kewarganegaraan di sekolah seperti kesedaran keselamatan jalanraya, perpaduan, kesedaran pengurusan bencana, kesedaran dadah, jenayah dan sebagainya kerana ianya sesuai dan lebih berkesan dididik di setting yang informal dalam sektor pendidikan informal seperti pembangunan belia. Justeru saya melihat sektor pendidikan informal adalah sektor yang perlu dibangun dan diinstitusikan sebaris dengan pendidikan formal demi hak generasi masa depan.
