GES Experience

The recently concluded Global Economic Symposium (GES) 2014 held at Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur provided multi faceted experience.

 

The Clock Tower

The month of Zulhijjah is HERE! The last month of the Hijrah calendar witnesses the convergence of Muslims from around the world in the holy city of Makkah. They will be there to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam i.e., to perform the Haj. The Clock Tower represents the ultra modern facade of Makkah.

The Clock Tower

The view of Kaabah from
the top of the Clock Tower.

The Curriculum and Assessment Development Framework

The framework that shapes curriculum and assessment.

There are dynamic and symbiotic interactions between the central core components (CCC) and the outer perimeter parameters (OPP).

The Contract Signed at Luh Mahfuz

Before the soul of every man is blown into his body (as a foetus in the womb of his mother), the soul has agreed to the terms and conditions (now referred as the framework or manhaj) stipulated by Allah. The framework/manhaj simply spells that every man must practice righteous deeds and avoid wrongdoings. And the details are elaborated in the Quran and Hadith. The Creator reminds us that Man and Jinn are created to worship Him. How so? It is all explained, described, elaborated and exemplified in the Quran  [Surah 5 (Al Maidah): Verse 48; Surah 24 (AnNur): Verses 1, 34 and 35] and Hadith.

But a man may not know or simply forget his function and his very own existence on Earth. For a person born into a non Muslim family, his beliefs are shaped by his parents and the environment (society, economy, culture, religion and education). Hence, he may not know the reason(s) for his very own existence. For a person born into a Muslim family, he is exposed to the framework stipulated by Allah - his Creator. However, that does not mean that he practices what he has been taught about Islam. He may know about it but does not practice it. He is called a non-practicing Muslim. And he is fully accountable for the consequences that will befall him in the Hereafter.

A man is principally divided into 4 main components: 1) the soul (roh), 2) the intelligence (akal), 3) the body (jasad) and 4) the desire (nafsu).

Issue: Misconceptions about Academic Freedom in Assessment

Some educators lament that they cannot exercise total academic freedom. This issue exists because of several reasons.

There are lecturers who believe that they are the authority in their own field of studies. Hence they assume they know what is best in their TnL and assessment. They believe that they can exercise total academic freedom (in a very loose sense, without referring to any form of educational assessment framework). 

There are evidences that showed non-alignment between course learning outcomes and assessment items in the final exams. This may arise from ignorance about an assessment framework or refusal to adhere to the assessment framework adopted by the university/faculty. This action may be viewed as exercising total academic freedom by certain quarters.

There is a lack of understanding on what 'academic freedom' means. An analogy is presented here. In real life, freedom to do what we want is always within the boundary of the law written by a country or a religion. Hence, the boundary IS the framework for the freedom that we can exercise in this country. Likewise, the freedom to assess in the continuous assessment and the final examinations should always be within the framework of the assessment adopted by the university/faculty. At the Academy of Language Studies (APB), the assessment frameworks are the Outcome-based Education (OBE) and the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

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