Don’t rush Education Blueprint through, groups tell ministry
PETALING JAYA: Education advocacy groups want the Education Ministry to embargo the final version of the National Education Blueprint until after the general election and not rush it for a Cabinet approval.
They believe that the blueprint, set to be tabled in Cabinet tomorrow, had excluded findings from an independent research that were generally in favour of retaining the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI).
The groups are the Parents Action Group for Education (PAGE), Concerned Parents Selangor (CPS), Malacca Action Group For Parents in Education (Magpie) and Herald of Penang for Education (HOPE).
PAGE chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdil Rahim urged the Cabinet not to rush things but instead deliberate on the blueprint further, highlighting the need to consider independent reports.
HOPE deputy chairman Krishnan Srinivasan concurred, saying that to rush it would be a knee-jerk reaction to appease some quarters.
“We have had reports of confusion among parents when it comes to PPSMI.
“School principals were given the authority to choose whether to continue with it or not. Besides that, parents are having difficulties finding English textbooks,” said Krishnan.
CPS coordinator Shamsudin Hamid said that a memorandum would be submitted to the ministry on Feb 19 to seek, among other things, the option for PPSMI in schools, reintroducing English medium schools and for a non-politician to head the ministry.
Stressing that they were not calling for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation, the group said that a senator with expertise in the field would be “very capable in steering the ministry in the future”.
“Take Pemandu for example. When it started, the Government picked someone from the private sector, made him a senator and brought him in to run the office,” said Shamsudin, adding that there had been two previous Education Ministers who were not politicians.
Magpie chairman Mak Chee Kin called on parents to join them in submitting the memorandum.
“If given the opportunity, children can learn and even compete on an international level but the ministry is holding back their right to the best education possible,” he added.