Don’t burden kids with workbooks, parents urged

KUALA LUMPUR: Parents need to change their practice of using workbooks as substitutes for textbooks, said Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon.

He said the Education Ministry noticed that parents, particularly those from the Chinese community, even urged schools to give more homework in workbooks to pupils.

“They need to realise that piling overwhelming amount of workbook exercises on pupils do not equate to better education or results,” Chong told reporters after the installation of a new signboard at SJK (C) Khai Chee. The syllabus in textbooks and workbooks by the ministry is sufficient for children, he added.

“More workbooks will lead to the heavy bag phenomenon among Chinese school pupils. It is also a financial burden for some families,” he said.

He added that some parents spent between RM200 to RM300 on workbooks.

Chong also said candidates who enrolled in the qualification diploma to train as teachers but failed the qualification test would get a second chance.

However, those who failed a second time would not be given another chance, he said.

Chong was responding to an article in a Chinese daily which reported that 27% or 95 out of 349 candidates who took the course could not enrol for teacher training.

“Those candidates failed in their psychometric test, which gauged their suitability of being good teachers,” said Chong.

The date for the second exam would be announced by the ministry once it is confirmed, he said.

Meanwhile, responding to claims by Seberang Prai Municipal councillor Jason Hng that Year Five pupils from a Chinese school have to learn Jawi in class, Chong said the pupils did not only have Jawi, but also Tamil and Chinese exercises.

He advised Hng to focus on solving pressing matters instead.

Chong, who is also MCA Youth chief, said MCA would screen candidates for corruption before they are fielded to stand in the next general election.

Commenting on the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission chief commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad’s comments that the agency would only clamp down on politicians after the general election to avoid having the arrest turned into a campaign issue, Chong said the MACC should make arrests whenever they have sufficient evidence.