MBA graduates can't even master basic arithmetic
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Re: "Education standards must be improved", Letters, October 26.
Burin Kantabutra has Thailand in mind, but if we glance around the world, his statement applies elsewhere too.
A few years ago Bloomberg’s Matthew Lynn wrote an article in which he referred to these schools as “Master of Business Administration factories”, claiming they helped bring about the 2008 world economic crash. He mentioned a number of CEOs from leading finance houses, including Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, who held MBAs. Former US president George W Bush was similarly qualified.
A week ago JP Morgan Chase sacked staff including British bankers for cheating on internal exams. Many were graduates of Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge universities. The exams comprised straightforward arithmetical (not mathematical) questions, some of them multiple-choice. Calculators were permitted.
In the 1950s, students aged 15 in UK grammar schools faced very similar questions without the aid of calculators or the help of the multiple-choice format. They were expected to gain a mark of at least 80 per cent to meet a standard required to take their maths O-Level exam a year later.
Thai education is in a dismal state, but Thailand is certainly not alone in this. The problem seems to be universal. Particularly unnerving is the fact that the US is one of the two leading world economies. The UK ranks No 5.
Matthew Lynn’s solution to the “MBA factories” was simple – “Just close them down.”
There is a sinister reason for the “dumbing-down” of education across the globe, but its explanation is beyond this short letter.
JC Wilcox
