LETTERS: OUR national education philosophy aims to produce exemplary human beings with a balanced development in physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual values.
There are many ways to achieve this, one of which is by learning literature.
The curriculum structure of science stream-based studies is focused on scientific theories. Less emphasis is placed on the social sciences.
Upon completion, the students are well equipped with technical knowledge. However, limited exposure to humanities subjects may disrupt the development of soft skills.
When these students step into the working world, they will not only deal with non-living things, as they have learned in class.
For instance, engineering students will not only deal with machines and processes, they will also have to engage with clients and manage people working under them.
These require communication skills and an understanding of human perspectives, which are often underdeveloped in technical or science education.
Without a touch of humanities subjects, the graduates will be like robots with no empathy or emotional intelligence.
This will hinder their ability to use their intellectual capacity to serve the nation as socially responsible professionals.
Cross-learning subjects will allow students to explore areas they are not familiar with, which could enhance their creativity and innovative thinking. This will help in articulating their scientific knowledge acquired in class for the benefit of a variety of audiences.
Literature brings students together to learn about cultures and philosophies, foster a sense of identity and self-belonging. From here, their understanding of people's behaviour will make them better members of society. For example, learning a classic Malay literature novel such as 'Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan' by National Laureate Datuk Shahnon Ahmad will help students appreciate the hardships of the poor.
Indulging in current literary works will improve the students' ability to understand local issues, the mind of the current generation, and how they think.
This will create better and more versatile professionals to address national agendas.
Learning literature also cultivates the reading habit, which fosters lifelong learning by allowing students to discover new knowledge and insights.
We understand why the introduction of literature will burden some students. This is the responsibility of educational institutions to make adjustments to the curriculum and student learning time, allowing such subjects to be mandatorily introduced or at least offered as an elective.
The challenge is, of course, to ensure students learn literature to help their character development and not merely for passing the examination.
DR NORSHAH AIZAT SHUAIB
Senior lecturer, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times