Audit on alleged illegal computer classes ready today
PETALING JAYA: The Selangor Education Department is expected to complete its audit today on alleged illegal computer classes in all Chinese vernacular schools.
The audit, which was launched on Tuesday following continuous pressure and complaints from aggrieved parents, also includes canteen management, students’ per capita expenses and bookstore management.
Persatuan Jaringan Ibubapa Pencinta Pendidikan Bahasa Zhong Hua (Jia Zong) adviser Edward Neoh Chuan Tat claimed there is a clear breach of the Education Act 1996 by conducting the computer literacy classes within school hours.
“The classes are not only included within the school timetable but also conducted by external tutors who are not trained by the ministry,” he told theSun.
“Under the law, a teacher not trained by the ministry cannot teach in government schools and they cannot teach anything outside the approved syllabus.
“But what is worse is that the ParentTeacher Associations (PTA) are taking huge amounts of profit by charging students for the classes in the name of donations.”
Neoh recalled numerous complaints made by parents individually and through Jia Zong to the ministry over these practices in Chinese vernacular schools.
However, he said although before the elections there was a directive to ban computer classes during school hours, the schools continued to conduct them using external vendors during school hours due to lack of enforcement.
This had led to students and parents being burdened by the additional classes and costs over the years.
One of the aggrieved parents, who wished to remain anonymous, said in one of the schools, students are being taught Tux Paint and PowerPoint, which will not be useful for primary students.
“No one is objecting to running computer or IT literacy classes but why must there be a specific fee charged with a deadline? But the school calls it donation.
“Parents are feeling the pressure of having to fork out so much money. PTAs in some urban schools are being run as commercial entities,” the parent claimed.