TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of technical efficiency of Malaysia’s secondary education. Education efficiency has become an important issue since the education sector is the recipient of high priority budget allocation. An evaluation of whether the budget distribution for secondary education is technically efficient is necessary because secondary education represents almost 40% of the national education budget.    Methodology: The study applied the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in examining the level of technical efficiency for a sample of 626 secondary schools from four selected states, namely, Selangor, Melaka, Kedah, and Terengganu. The sample was further split into schools from developed and less developed states, and urban and rural areas.     Findings:  The results revealed that secondary schools in the four sample states were technically inefficient (almost 98%).  Most schools were at a moderate level of technical efficiency (score range between 0.5-0.79). Interestingly, schools in rural areas and less-developed states showed better technical efficiency than those in urban areas and developed states. Given the government's total expenditure, academic achievement could be increased by almost 30 percent with an improvement in inefficiency.   Contributions: The study's fundamental implications are that inefficient secondary schools need to increase their efficiency by ensuring effective budget spending and adequate expenditure distribution monitoring. More schools need to be constructed or repaired, and old schools/buildings upgraded. The sector also needs to expedite compliance with the 17:1 student-teacher ratio set by the Education Ministry to improve teaching delivery quality.   Keywords: Data envelopment analysis, government spending, secondary school, student and teacher ratio, technical efficiency.   Cite as: Baba, R., Abdul Karim, Z., Abdul-Majid, M., & Sulaiman, N. (2021). Technical efficiency of secondary schools in Malaysia.  Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(1), 265-283. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss1pp265-28

The Determinants of the Technical Efficiency of Secondary Schools in Malaysia: A Panel Evidence

This study aims to identify the level of technical efficiency of secondary schools and its determinants using the data of 626 Malaysian secondary schools over 2010-2014. Two estimation techniques have been used; the first step is to estimate the school's efficiency score by employing a Data Envelopment Analysis approach. In the second step, we examine the factors affecting the schools' efficiency using a static panel data analysis. The main findings revealed that secondary education is technically inefficient, and on average, the schools can increase their output by 33% using the same resources. Secondary schools in rural areas and less-developed states indicate a better technical efficiency level than schools in urban areas and developed states. Factors that affect technical efficiency are school size, per capita income, and average wage.  The findings suggest that the school may perform better by increasing the schools' size by having more classes.  The opportunities to increase residents' and households' income may help the areas perform better than others.JEL Classification: H5, H75How to Cite:Baba, R., Karim, Z. A., Majid, M. A., & Sulaiman, N. (2021). The Determinants of The Technical Efficiency of Secondary Schools in Malaysia: Panel Evidence. Etikonomi, 20(1), 169 – 184. https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v20i1.17204

Sejauh manakah kecekapan dan keberkesanan perkhidmatan pos di Shah Alam setelah diswastakan. Satu tinjauan / Ani Awang ... [et al.]

Penswastaan perkhidmatan pos adalah suatu perkara yang tidak asing lagi kepada mas'yarakat Malaysia dalam tempoh lebih dua tahun dalam usaha untuk meningkatkan kecekapan dan untuk memberikan perkhidmatan yang terbaik kepada orangramai

Harvesting marine microalgae nannochloropsis sp. using Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) technique

The production of high-value bioproducts from microalgae biomass has been widely investigated. However, their production is hindered by the expensive harvesting process. To date, flocculation followed by DAF process has been accepted as one of the affordable harvesting approaches. In this study, the use of DAF technique was attempted to harvest marine microalgae Nannochloropsis sp. Batch DAF harvesting was carried out using fabricated DAF unit equipped with several compartments including separation column, product collecting vessel and rotary skimmer. Tannin-based biopolymer flocculant, AFlok-BP1 at pH 5 with a concentration of 160 mg/L was used to facilitate the flocculation of particles. The effects of different saturator pressure at 1.8, 2, and 2.2 bar were then evaluated at a constant volume of 6 L microalgae culture. The effects of different microalgae culture volumes (6, 8 and 10 L) were also evaluated at a fixed saturator pressure of 2.2 bar. The highest pressure at 2.2 bar yielded the best result with the highest total solid of 3.19 ± 0.01% and a maximum yield of 1.70 ± 0.05 g/g (wet basis). The microalgae concentration was the lowest (0.027 g/L) when 6 L of culture volume was used. However, the values were significantly higher when the culture volume was increased to 8 and 10 L to approximately 0.035 and 0.050 g/L, respectively. As a conclusion, the study provided evidence for the feasibility of DAF technique in harvesting marine microalgae Nannochloropsis sp

Bahasa istana D'Raja Kelantan: mercu kegemilangan budaya

Bahasa Istana D’Raja Kelantan: Mercu Kegemilangan Budaya memperincikan keunikan bahasa istana D’Raja Kelantan, serta peranan dan pengaruh bahasa istana dalam menjadi pemersatu antara golongan diraja sebagai pemerintah dan golongan rakyat jelata sebagai yang diperintah. Sebagai tumpuan utama penulisan, huraian tertumpu kepada penyenaraian perbendaharaan kata khusus dalam bahasa istana Kelantan serta beberapa aspek penggunaan loghat Kelantan. Selain itu, bagi memenuhi objektif penulisan buku ini, gelaran-gelaran khas atau utama yang dikurniakan oleh Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Al-Sultan Kelantan turut disentuh secara sepintas lalu. Ini memberi gambaran bahawa Baginda Tuanku begitu prihatin dan menyanjung tinggi setiap individu yang menyumbangkan jasa dan taat setia kepada negeri Kelantan Darul Naim. Usaha penerbitan buku ini diharap dapat membantu masyarakat Melayu menerokai semula segala khazanah yang semakin dilupakan ini. Di samping itu, kajian ini juga merupakan usaha para pengkaji untuk melestarikan kembali bahasa istana Kelantan, iaitu khazanah agung yang menjadi sebahagian daripada warisan jati diri masyarakat Melayu Kelantan. Selain itu, penerbitan buku ini selaras dengan hasrat MAIK yang melihat betapa perlunya khazanah ini dikaji dan didokumentasikan demi terus memartabatkan kedaulatan institusi diraja. Bahasa istana ialah bahasa yang digunakan oleh golongan diraja di sesebuah negara. Lazimnya bahasa istana berasal daripada bahasa yang sama dengan bahasa yang dituturkan oleh rakyat jelata tetapi berbeza dari beberapa aspek, seperti perbendaharaan kata khusus dan cara mengungkapkan perkara serta tindakan tertentu. Setiap negara yang mempunyai institusi diraja akan mempunyai variasi bahasa yang digunakan oleh golongan diraja dan orang-orang yang ada hubungan dengan mereka. Dalam sejarah, ada juga berlaku golongan diraja yang menggunakan bahasa lain selain bahasa sendiri, atas sebab-sebab tertentu, yang selalunya berkait dengan aspek status atau sikap memandang tinggi terhadap bahasa-bahasa tertentu atau sikap setia terhadap bahasa- bahasa tertentu. Istana Parsi, misalnya, apabila dijajah oleh orang Arab, bertukar kepada bahasa Arab daripada bahasa Parsi. Sejarah juga mencatatkan bahawa bangsa Seuna yang pernah memerintah negeri Karnataka di India menggunakan bahasa Kannada dan tidak bahasa Sanskrit sebagai bahasa istana. Buku ini menghuraikan aspek perbendaharaan kata khusus yang terdapat dalam bahasa istana Kelantan. Yang akan menjadi tumpuan ialah jenis-jenis perbendaharaan kata dengan contoh- contoh penggunaannya. Perbendaharaan kata khusus bermaksud perkataan dan ungkapan yang secara khusus digunakan dalam konteks orang-orang dan suasana masyarakat di istana dan persekitarannya. Dalam bab ini, aspek perbendaharaan kata khusus dilihat dari tiga perspektif berikut: (i) Perbendaharaan kata diraja, (ii) Kata ganti nama diri, dan (iii) Ungkapan tertib. Dengan perbendaharaan kata diraja dimaksudkan sejumlah perkataan yang digunakan apabila merujuk golongan diraja, dan yang berbeza dengan perkataan yang digunakan untuk rakyat jelata. Sebagai contoh, golongan diraja dikatakan beradu tetapi golongan bukan diraja dikatakan tidur. Apabila raja sakit, baginda dikatakan gering. Unsur perbendaharaan kata ini terdapat dalam bahasa Melayu baku dan juga dalam loghat bahasa Melayu. Kata ganti nama ialah perkataan yang merujuk diri, seperti saya, kamu dan mereka. Dalam bahasa istana, wujud perkataan-perkataan khusus yang berbeza dengan perkataan-perkataan untuk masyarakat biasa, misalnya beta, yang digunakan oleh raja bagi merujuk diri baginda sendiri dan patik yang merupakan rujukan orang biasa bagi dirinya apabila bercakap dengan golongan diraja. Kedua-dua beta dan patik ialah kata ganti nama diri orang pertama. Akhir sekali Bahasa Istana D’Raja Kelantan: Mercu Kegemilangan Budaya turut memerihalkan ungkapan tertib yang digunakan apabila berhubung dengan golongan istana, terutama dengan alSultan dan ahli-ahli kerabat yang dekat dengan DYMM Sultan. Antara contoh ialah ungkapan Junjung kasih, tuanku, bagi tujuan menyatakan terima kasih, dan Ampun tuanku, sebagai tanda bersetuju dengan apa yang dinyatakan, iaitu dengan maksud “Ya” dalam bahasa rakyat jelata

Influence of physical environment towards leisure time physical activity (LTPA) among adolescents

The purpose of this study is to identify the influence of physical environment towards leisure physical activities among adolescents. As many as 913 respondents aged between 13 to 17 years old from four districts (Seremban, Muar, Kota Star, Kuantan) in Peninsular Malaysia, were chosen through a layered cluster random sampling technique. The results show that the safety of the environment is in moderate level (busy road: M=3.51, SP=1.31; stray dog: M=3.46, SP=1.38; crime: M=3.23, SP=1.33) and it has no connection with the involvement of youth in LTPA (r=-0.01, p>0.05). It is also discovered that sports facilities limit them from undergoing physical activities during leisure hours. However, facilities are easy to be used (75%) by youth and this leads to a significant relationship with LTPA (r=0.10, p<0.05). The implication of research shows that physical environment is pivotal in order to increase the amount of youth involvement in overall free time physical activities. Thus, it is suggested that these physical activities can only take more of the teenagers’ time if they are carried out in environments which are creative, comfortable, safe and user-friendly

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to &lt; 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of &amp; GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P &lt; 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo