English tuition 2023…. it’s back!!!

Several students received As on their SPMs this year. The first four are the “usual” ones. The predictable. I am quite pleased of them and their accomplishment. I was a tough taskmaster, especially when it came to the boys. For obvious reasons (no need to elaborate).

Ita stated that after they received their SPM results, they inquired as to why I was not present at school. The truth is that I had something I couldn’t escape at UTM and couldn’t leave. I went to school (without fail) when the SPM results were announced before the pandemic (2019 and 2020). There were a number of causes for this. One of them was that I promised “something” to those who improved their grades (trial and actual results). Given that some of them come from a particular background, a small monetary reward would be very welcomed.

This year 2023 will be my fourth year to be entrusted with teaching tuition class again. Yup. But this year, I’ve decided to try something new. I’ve created a self-exploration board game, notes, questions, and worksheets. Let’s see how things go this year! The students are unique, and I should take the time this year to get to know them better. Unlike last year, I believe I was a little aloof with them. I don’t want to form any attachments with them, but they could tell I had favourites among them. After all, I am a human person.

The student to whom I paid special attention was a little version of myself. A loner, quiet,….. (fill in the blank). She has these features with which I could identify as a younger myself. Looking at her brings back memories of taking SPM more than 20 years ago. It was one of the most difficult moments of my life because of familial issues I was dealing with at the time. But my late mother was a firm believer. She thought that as long as I learn something, I will not fail, regardless of my grades/marks. I miss my mom!

How to claim dental and spectacles (as in 2023)?

Here are the steps to make your claim if you (or your dependents such as children) receive dental treatment such as scaling.

  1. Log in to MyUTM portal
  2. Under Working at UTM section, scroll down and select “Dental and spectacles”.

3. Click Welfare and Services, then select Application -> Select Dental -> Select Application for Dental.

4. Fill in the details such as Clinic name and date of treatment. Save.

5. Add attachment of the scanned original receipt.

6. Click Treatment. Select the treatment or service that rendered to you in the Detail Treatment.

7. Add attachment accordingly (*compulsory). The attachment is the scanned version of the original receipt. So, make sure you scan/snap a picture of the receipt before you submit the original receipt to the person in charge.

Note: Make sure you print out the Borang Rawatan Pergigian. Fill in the form as necessary. To save you time from going to the dental clinic twice, before you get the dental treatment, print the form and bring it with you when you get the treatment. The form requires the signature of the dentist with official stamp.

To claim for glasses/ spectacles, you can follow the same steps of 1 and 2. Just choose “Spectacles” instead of Dental for Step 3. Unlike dental claim, (what I personally did) I printed out the form (Borang Tuntutan Pembelian Cermin mata) before collecting my new spectacles from the optometrist.

PENILAIAN PENGAJARAN DAN PENGALAMAN PELAJAR (ePPPK) DAN PELAKSANAAN ‘END OF COURSE SURVEY’ DALAM SISTEM ePPP

EPPP digunakan dengan menilai persepsi pelajar terhadap pengajaran pensyarah di akhir semester sejak 2009. Berdasarkan maklumbalas yang diterima, EPPP telah diubah dan ditambahbaik dari segi rubrik penilaian.  Mulai tahun 2023, EPPP ditukar kepada EPPPK (Penilaian Pengajaran dan Pengalaman Pelajar) dan soal selidik akhir kursus atau dikenali sebagai End of course survey akan menggunakan satu capaian yang sama bagi tujuan penilaian.  Pelajar tidak lagi perlu ke dua laman web berbeza untuk mengisi respons mereka.  

Satu sesi taklimat bagi pelajar akan diadakan oleh CDEX sebelum akhir semester ini di mana pelajar akan mengetahui EPPPK yang baru ini.  Bagi kursus sarjana muda, penggunaan AIMS akan dimansuhkan dan akan diganti dengan MyAIMS di mana pensyarah boleh memasukkan markah peperiksaan kursus sarjana muda di MyAIMS, bukan AIMS.  Tetapi buat masa ini, AIMS masih lagi boleh digunakan buat sementara waktu bagi tujuan memasukkan markah.    Bagi kursus sarjana, penggunaan GSMS masih lagi diteruskan bagi tujuan memasukkan markah (tiada perbezaan).  

Untuk maklumat lanjut, boleh rujuk slaid yang diberikan dan juga rakaman WebEx.

Nota: Sebarang pertanyaan boleh diajukan kepada pihak CDEX atau Profesor Madya Dr. Mohd Nihra Haruzuan bin Mohamad Said.  Maklumat yang dinyatakan di sini adalah rumusan dari sesi taklimat yang diadakan pada Isnin, 15 Mei 2023 (pukul 10 pagi).  

TES dimansuhkan berkuatkuasa mulai tahun 2023

Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Universiti Bil. 6/2023 bertarikh 21 Mac 2023 telah bersetuju agar komponen penilaian bagi sistem LPPT dilihat semula dengan mengambil kira keperluan semasa dan penilaian berasaskan kompetensi staf. Sehubungan dengan itu, berkuat kuasa mulai tahun 2023,penggunaan sistem penilaian kualiti pengajaran iaitu Teaching Excellent System adalah dimansuhkan.

 

Good Clinical Practice results

Since I took the exam on 8 March 2023 (Wednesday), so until 30 March 2023 (Thursday), I awaited the results with bated breath. Every time a new WhatsApp message appeared, I attempted to avoid reading it. Finally, the day arrived when they announced the results.  But we would get the results through email.  I tried not to think too much about it.  I kept myself busy.  But on 30 March 2023 around 9pm, I received the email.  

Alhamdulillah.  Out of 15 candidates, only 7 passed the examination. I asked my sponsored friend if she passed.  She passed the exam after taking it twice. Me?  Let’s say it was worthwhile for me to take the exam.  Will I retake the examination in another five years?  Well, let’s wait and see.  In sha Allah I will retake it again IF it is needed for whatever reasons.  

Good Clinical Practice

A friend inquired whether I was interested in attending a three-day course on Good Clinical Practice. The costs of RM1100 are a tad pricey, however. In addition, a certification examination would be administered on the third day. 40 multiple choice questions. To obtain the certificate, we must earn at least 32/40 points. Yup. There can be no more than eight errors, which is equivalent to 80%. Tough? You bet.

My friend gave me a copy of the book which I can use so I could start studying earlier before the course.  But, between the exam, grading assignments since early February 2023, and other things, it was difficult to find time to study. I determined to study the book from cover to cover no matter what. So, I arrived slightly early for the next couple of weeks in order to study for at least an hour or two. While invigilating examinations, I diligently attempted to finish reading and studying the book. But, reading a book containing legal words is difficult.   So, I decided to create notes for myself using concept-map format.   I do not now how it would help me to improve my memory but I need to do something.  Knowing how ________ my hand-writing is,  I need to have something that I can read with ease.

The exam on Wednesday at 1130am lasted only one hour and consisted of forty questions. Time passes quickly? Indeed. I had limited time to double-check the entirety of the questions. I just reviewed the OMR form and ensured that I had answered all questions. “At least, I answered all of the questions” I said to myself. That was my determination. After the exam, I could hardly recall the questions I had answered. When some of us were discussing the questions, I did my best to recall them, but it felt like a dream. I have no memory of answering the questions.

Now, the only thing I can do is pray that I would pass the exams the first time around. That’s my hope.

 

Al-Fatihah to Prof Mohd. Kamal bin Hassan

It took me a while to compose myself after hearing the news on Thursday morning, 23 February 2023.  Hours turn into days and days turn into weeks for me to recollect my memories about him.  I learn the phrase “Paradigm shift” back in 1998 during the orientation week.  Paradigm shift is a big word for me.  What is that?  In Malay, it is translated as Anjakan Paradigma.

As I took several classes related to philosophy, I understand more about the meaning of paradigm shift.  But being me when I first heard the word, I was mesmerised with the guy who uttered it, Prof Kamal.  A tall, lanky guy in his 50s, he looked so regal and scholarly.  Coming from a non-academic family, for me to meet someone like him is almost a miracle (with the Blessing of Allah).   Learning something from him in one hour seems so brief.  I started to search more about his work.  Reading a short article by him that I found in the IIUM library left me speechless.  I started to ask myself, “Can I be like him aka as a thinker?”, “How can I be like him who seems to be wise in philosophical way?”, “Can I write like him?”.   

Reflecting on myself who is not him and not having a brain like him makes me think further by asking myself “What can I do for the benefits of the ummah?” Ironically, the question was among the things that he mentioned in his talk.  If John F Kennedy once said ““Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.””, Prof Kamal once posed the question (might not be his exact word, but just the gist), “What can we do for the sake of Allah to contribute for benefits of the ummah?“.  The concept of ‘Abd, being a Muslim might seem alien to a younger me but it is not easy to be internalized and actualized by the older me.

I had a few more opportunities to learn from him while studying at undergraduate level during talks (not a formal course).  One of the last moments was during an Ibadah camp at Templar Park in 2002.   It was a long day and his talk was at night.  He smiled warmly as he stepped into the hall where we had been waiting, seeing our exhausted faces. He wore a batik shirt with white pants. I was seated a little further back from the front of the stage, where he was standing. But even from a distance, I could see him clearly. His aura glowed brightly than the dimly lit hall.  

As far as I could remember, he exudes the aura of cool, calm and collected. On the basis of our initial encounter, no one has ever struck me as a scholar. In my opinion, he embodied the scholarly spirit as of the late Prof. Malik Badri and Cikgu Sidek Baba, and Prof Kamal’s behaviour reflected that.  

Prof Kamal, it is an honor to meet you in person when I worked as an Assistant Director of a newly established unit at IIUM back in 2004.  Even though our time together was brief, you provided me with models of scholarly behaviour that I find difficult to imitate.   Al-Fatihah to you.  May Allah grant you Jannah.