KUALA LUMPUR – The RM85.5 million allocation for the revival of the Special Affairs Department (Jasa) outlined in Budget 2021 should be used to build new schools, said former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching.
She added that the proposed Budget 2021 has no allocation for the building of new schools.
“RM85.5 million is allocated to Jasa. That money can be used to build two to three new schools.
“Alternatively, the money can be used to repair 10 to 12 impoverished schools or equip 855 schools with disabled-friendly facilities.
“The same amount can also buy 124,500 tablets at RM600 each for students,” said Teo (PH-Kulai) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Teo said that the digital gap among students had been acknowledged by the current Education Ministry wherein 37% lack devices for online learning.
“What is Perikatan Nasional’s strategy to address the situation? If we don’t want to rely on online learning, the alternative provided by the Education Ministry is educational television programmes,” she said.
“But these TV programmes are below par.”
Teo was referring to RTM and Astro Tutor’s programmes scheduled from November 5 to 12, saying the content is not enough for students.
She said that only three subjects (Physics, Economy and History) were provided for Form 6 students over the course of a week.
Meanwhile, Form 2 students are not provided with any programmes.
Year 1 students only have the Mathematics subject available, but the programme only spans 30 minutes over the course of a week. On the other hand, Year 3 students only have 30 minutes on Mathematics, 150 minutes on Bahasa Malaysia, and 30 minutes on English.
“Imagine if Year 3 students were actually in school. Their learning schedule would total up to 1,500 minutes,” she said. – The Vibes, November 16, 2020
