‘Stateless’ siblings start school
BUTTERWORTH: Three “stateless” siblings have been granted permission to enroll in a public school after the Education Ministry gave them the green light last week.
They will, however, be required to renew their approval to study in government schools every six months.
Fruit seller M. Vangadeswaran had faced difficulties in registering his children this year, as the school authorities needed time to verify their claims of being stateless.
Vangadeswaran had sought help from Batu Uban assemblyman Dr T. Jayabalan, who called the media to highlight the case.
On Saturday, it was reported that the trio – V. Suria, 13; V. Agilandaiswary, 12 and V. Thuranayagi, 11 – were unable to return to school as they did not have a valid certificate, a Mykid or Mykad to prove their citizenship.
The children were listed as non-citizens by the National Registration Department as their mother was an Indonesian, and the marriage took place in Medan, Indonesia.
Vangadeswaran, 45, thanked Jayabalan for intervening on behalf of the family and helping to persuade the education authorities to expedite the re-admission of his children.
Vangadeswaran said despite the temporary permit letters by the ministry allowing his children to study, such approval was only valid for six months.
“I need to show documents of my children being born in the country to the Education Ministry. Otherwise, I need to apply for the permit letters again.”
This is not the first time his children started school late. He had waited for up to six months previously to admit his children in government schools.
Jayabalan said that the bureaucracy in the ministry should be reduced as it was about ensuring that children receive proper education, which is a basic human right.
According to the PKR citizenship bureau coordinator A. Kumaresan, there were thousands of similar cases and urged the authorities to find ways to expedite the handling of it.