KUALA LUMPUR – Prominent educationist P. Ramanathan passed away yesterday (April 30) after a brief illness.
The former president of the National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) was 82.
Ramanathan was surrounded by family and friends when he breathed his last, poignantly on the eve of Labour Day, at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre here.
Born in Tanjung Malim, Perak, Ramanathan’s contribution as a teacher, activist, then union president, included fighting for and gaining better wages for teachers, reducing the administrative workload of schoolteachers as well as reforming the New Secondary School Curriculum.
Even after his retirement, Ramanathan continued to be active in the education sector, voicing his opinions via groups like the Malaysian Association for Education, of which he was general secretary, and as the former president of the NUTP as well as council member of Education International (EI), the world’s largest education trade union which he helped form.
Among them were calling on the government to take notice of the growing incidents of racism in schools; politics in schools; an audit on the effectiveness of the National Education Blueprint; and even taking on the NUTP itself for pulling punches on the issue of schoolteachers’ workload and school-based examinations.
He spearheaded reconstruction efforts for the education system and infrastructure of Bosnia Herzegovina and Kobe, Japan following the war and earthquake respectively in those countries.
Jerome Fernandez, who was Ramanathan’s deputy at the NUTP in the late 1990s, said Ramanathan had a strong sense of social justice.
“He will take on anyone, even the education minister, if he felt the powers that be were being unreasonable and exploiting teachers,” said Fernandez, adding that his knack in tamping down a crisis and finding solutions on a win-win basis had been the hallmark of his tenure in the union.
“Whatever benefits teachers enjoy today is thanks to the struggles of past leaders like Ramanathan.
“We have not only lost an ally but a true friend.
“He was always thinking of others. Even on the day he passed, he was checking in on me and my own health issues,” he added.
Ramanathan gained international recognition for his role in the formation of EI, being part of the negotiating team that merged the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession and the International Federation of Free Teachers Unions at a convention in Stockholm in 1993.
EI today represents 32 million teachers in 178 countries.
EI regional coordinator Anand Singh said Ramanathan was a true champion of the teaching profession.
“Throughout his life, Rama, as he was fondly called, was committed to promoting quality education for all, women’s empowerment, eradicating child labour, and enhancing the economic, professional, and social status of teachers, especially in developing countries,” said Anand in EI’s condolence message.
Ramanathan leaves wife Sarada Nair, and two children Previn and Shoba as well as two grandchildren.
His wake is being held at the Gui Yuan Funeral Parlour on Jalan 51A/229 until May 2 with a funeral ceremony at the adjoining Petaling Jaya City Council Crematorium from 9am on May 3. – The Vibes, May 1, 2023
