Economics: am loving it..

I myself am not sure why in the world whould i make a post on the above mentioned subject.. Economics? What is Economics? For what reason i love Economics? Well, i wont have to define the term "Economics" as the term itself is self-explainatory by its own already..

But to some extend there also people who might overlooked the term too.. Economics is something that is not that complicated, both theory-wise and practical-wise.. But making a Economic Decision is difficult.. It takes time and courage to make a wise decision..

Owh.. Refering to yesterday Brunei Times Paper, it mentioned that "Fewer locals interested in economics"

Its kinda sad to know that this situation happened in Brunei.. The number of students taking Economics and Economics teachers/tutors/lecturers teaching are fewer now.. Its not a good indication for the nation in the near future..

It was mentioned in the article that based on the research carried by a Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) lecturer, Rosmawijah Jawawi found that the number of Bruneian students taking Economics fell by 50 per cent from 1996 to 2000.. Hopefully this statistic has positively improved..

Economics is a daily life.. Economics is not boring.. Trust me!! What u need actually is the interest on the above mentioned subject..

An Economist is a very special person, he/she is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing..

No one can get something for nothing.. Even if something appears to be free, there is always a cost even though that cost may be hidden.. Hence, there is nothing free!! There can not be anything free.. This proven by the "Opportunity cost" and "No-Free-Lunch (NFL) Theorem"..

Say a guy wanted to have a can of Coke and Nasi Bungkus for his lunch but he has only $1 with him.. So with this limited resources ($1), he have to choose either to buy the can of Coke or Nasi Bungkus only.. He can not have both..

If he choose a can of Coke, he has to let go the Nasi Bungkus.. So the cost of having a can of Coke is the Nasi Bungkus..

The term "opportunity cost" can be defined as the next best alternative forgone..

As for the NFL Theorem, you may get free food at a cafe/fine-dining restaurant, but in reality the you might have been chare indirectly charge for the cost..

In conclusion: "There Ain't No Such Thing As Free"

Aint it interesting? So we should be able to prove that Economics is fun and an interesting subject..

Suggestions on how to increase the awareness on Economics are:

Current situation / Risks: Very Limited

1. The number of Students taking Economics are very limited..

2. The number of Economics Teachers/Tutors/Lecturers are very limited..

Ways to overcome / Controls:

1. The government, through the Ministry of Education (MOE) should increased the number of secondary school that offers Economics..

2. The limited number of Economics students could be improved by making Economics as a core subject for all the upper secondary students.. From my observation, most of the school that offers this subject as an optional subject only..

3. A good supply of quality educated teachers/tutors/lecturers can be made possible if there is a specifically designed Economics-teaching course.. I know there is BA Economics course offered by UBD, but these undergraduates need to be properly trained as a teacher first.. PGCE after or before teaching..

If the PGCE was to be taken after a period of teaching then, will they know what it really takes to be an educator? If it was to be taken after the PGCE, it would have taken so many years of the future Economics-educator-to-be.. 4 Years for local degree and then a year of PGCE, making it +/- 6 years.. Ehehe.. Even the quota for BA Economics applicants is very limited too..

But the situation would be different if there is existence of special economics teaching course made available here..

Here, i should not fail to see that currently UBD do offers a BA Education with Economics but the number is far insignificant.. I'll double check on the number of enrolment soon..

Btw, its almost true that the Economics teachers and tutors perhap some lecturers too, are over dependent on the text book.. The Economics text and reference books especially the one by John Sloman, John Perkins and Hashim Ali.. :P)

I was supposed to write a posting on Exchange Rate last Tuesday but i was a little bit too lazy.. Okay, till then happy Reading!!