KUALA LUMPUR: Parent Teacher Associations and teacher groups welcome review the Education Act to make it mandatory for students to complete schooling from Standard One to Form Five but want the focus to be supporting the parents and schools instead of focusing on fines.
The government has announced that it is reviewing the act and said parents could face a fine of up to RM5,000 or six months imprisonment if they failed to send their children to school.
Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said the current law only required pupils to complete schooling until Standard Six.
Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Datin Nor Azimah Abdul Rahim said PAGE fully supports the move but wants the focus to be on enabling parents to send their children to school instead of focusing on the punishment.
“We definitely support the government’s move to review the act. We all want our children to receive their full education.
“It’s a no brainer parents wanting their children to get the best education. However there are a lot of factors why some parents don’t send their children to school. Factor such as poverty hinders a lot of parents from sending their kids to school.
“The government means well but we should also go down to the ground and find out the financial situation of these parents, If they need help to send their children to school, then we should support them instead of just focusing on fines,” said Azimah.
National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) president Kamarozaman Abdul Razak also agreed with the government’s move to always find ways to improve the education system but also wants the government to set up a roundtable discussion with all parties involved.
“We should have a roundtable discussion because then the government can hear voices from all sides especially the parents point of view so that the final decision will be fair.
“Poverty is still a serious issue for many parents. We always talk about free education and maybe the focus should define the understanding of what is really free about education. There are parents who can’t afford food for their families, so can the schools provide proper meals?
“Then there is also the matter of transportation cost of sending their children to school. Can the government provide free transport? School uniforms, school equipment like bags and writing material, all these cost money. These are obstacles that the government has to take into consideration,” Kamarozaman said.
NUTP secretary-general Harry Tan agreed in principle that education should be made compulsory but hoped the government considers areas which should be given exemption.
“NUTP agrees in principle that education from standard 1 till Form 5 should be made compulsory. However, there are a few areas that should be looked at and given exemption.
“For example, home schooling, tahfiz, international schools and whatever education the parent chooses, they must be given an exemption or recognition. We must make provision for students who are not academically inclined and wish to join the labour market,” said Harry.
He also urged the government to have regular engagements with all the stakeholders such as schools, teachers and parents including those who are living in poverty so as to arrive at a comprehensive and consensual decision.