A JOHOR DAP committee member has called on the government to carry out more substantial education reforms.
Dr Boo Cheng Hau said there should be more equal opportunities and accessibility to international standards of education and promotion of social integration among students from various streams.
“The number of parents, including the T20 high-income group Malay parents, sending their children to international schools and vernacular schools, especially the SJKC and SJKT, have increased over the years.
“It indicates that there is a high demand for alternative education with a higher competitive edge which cannot be provided by the present national school system.
“Notably this phenomenon would further severe the inequality in obtaining more competitive education in terms of STEM, languages and cultural adaptability because most M40 middle-income group and B40 lower-income group, including rural students, do not have the same accessibility to high-quality education,” he said in a statement.
He said many education policies have been implemented hastily in an impromptu manner, and there is a need for more systematic study on the education reforms that benefit all sectors of Malaysian society regardless of race, region and social status.
“The contrasting difference between vernacular schools and private international schools is that the former provide free education and the latter are a privileged, private-funded education though both have the similarity in preparing their students for more competitiveness and readiness in the real world and for better employment opportunities.
“A rigid one-stream national school system has further handicapped the underprivileged students’ competitiveness in their varying future career prospects, especially the rural, lower M40 and B40 students who are most affected,” he said.
Dr Boo also called on the unity government to take the bold initiative to recognise the Unified Examinations for Independent Chinese Secondary Schools (UEC) so students from all streams can integrate more effectively by convergence at different stages, including from secondary school, tertiary level to workplace.
“The MOE and the parliamentary select committee concerned should set up a special commission to study all possible education reforms which would be to ensure that the underprivileged M40 and B40 lower-income groups have access to the same benefits of an internationally competitive education system similar to the students from the T20 high-income group,” he added. – September 7, 2024
