It's a dog-eat-dog world - this has never been so true as it is today. Everyone is trying to outdo the other and make it big in this world. So deep is the cut-throat business that it has now unfortunately spread to the most vulnerable assest of any society - its youth.

Youngsters are being slowly but surely brainwashed to believe that the only way to succeed in life is to come out tops in every endeavour.

One example is the pressure from schools and parents for students to excel academically at all costs, to the extent that their achievements end up looking ridiculous.

In the recently announced SPM 2006 examination results, every newspaper and television station went to town blaring news about top students - of those who took home 18 or 16 As and their aspirations.

They became celebrities of the day thanks to their so-called feat in securing straight As. Their parents were on Cloud Nine, overjoyed with their children's success.

The ability of some to excel in every subject is mind boggling, yet it conveys the wrong message to the students - that they are only worthy if they excel in every aspect of their life. This can be a fallacy as not every straight-A student will go on to become the top student in university.

It is scary to see how 'tough' schooling has become. Parents think nothing of forking out money to send children for as many tuition classes as possible, in the belief that this is good for them.

It is a shame that people are so caught up with the trappings of life that they have lost all understanding about what life is really about.

Bringing home straight As is of no use if the child is incompetent as an individual, and lacks social skills and the confidence to 'succeed' in life. To focus on just one aspect of life and neglect the rest is not a wise move.

Time and again, we read in the newspapers about graduates who are unable to secure jobs due to their inability to interact confidently and their poor command of the English language, among others.

On one hand the education system is busy churning out 'bright sparks' for the labour market. On the other hand, this very system is guilty of not producing all-rounders - people with both the grades and the persona to succeed in the workplace.

What of 'failure'?

It is obvious that the Malaysian education system has only one mission - to create more and more students who are A-scorers, with completely no regard for the need to mould balanced individuals. This seems to be a case of quantity overriding quality.

Even though the government is aware of the disastrous effects, it is unfazed and has yet to spare any thought to rectifying the situation.

Looking at the quality of graduates, one wonders if it is too late already to halt the 'excel at any cost' mindset assumed by the young and perpetuated by the education system.

While bright students will be 'hunted' by many companies, how well would they fare on the scale of what it takes to be a good human being?

Also, will the 'bright sparks' place any premium on values like empathy and compassion or will they move on to become individuals concerned solely with earning a high salary and driving the latest car in the market?

The fault undoubtedly lies with the education system for producing minds that have no notion of creativity and know nuts about analytical thinking.

The media is just as guilty in continuously sustaining the fallacy that life is all about scoring straight As (the more the better) and achieving the trappings of life - a healthy bank balance, a much talked about house and expensive holidays abroad. Such measures are seen as the typical mark of a successful person - anything else is considered nothing to shout about.

The media has hardly spared a thought for students who fail major exams. If other students can burn the midnight oil and obtain a dozen As, why can't they? What prevented them from doing well? Are they generally disinterested in studies or did they find the education system 'too much' to bear? Or is it because they do not have doctors, accountants or teachers for parents? Do such students harbour no dreams or ambitions to make it in life?

It is insufficient to know that we have bright minds in our midst. It is worrying that there are students who have lost interest in education and think little of what their future holds. Do the media and education ministry discuss the fate of such students?

No. Instead, those who fail are practically invisible and left to their own devices, and ignored at a very young age by society. Little surprise then, that they try to gain attention of the wrong kind.

It is all well and fine to produce students who strive for excellence but such a desire must come complete with the interest in becoming exemplary human beings. Until then, Malaysia's education system will always leave much to be desired.
JJ RAY started her career with a mainstream publication. A non-conformist, she soon saw the barriers that went up whenever, through her writing, she tried to make the world a home for one and all.