Govt's education 'illusions' trick poor, says Ideas

The government appears to be taking advantage of the trust given by the poor by creating an illusion that the education system in the country has been reformed, said Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) today.

Its CEO Wan Saiful Wan Jan said that according to a study conducted by his think tank, the bottom 40 percent of parents of schoolgoing children are generally happy with the quality of schools and teachers in the country, when the reality is that their children are struggling by regional and international standards.

"They trust the government is providing a good education.  This appears to be a positive finding, but in reality it is extremely worrying," said Wan Saiful.

"What our survey indicates is how wide the gap actually is between perception and reality. 

"These parents seem to have a very positive perception about our schools, whereas when the products of these schools, the students, are assessed internationally, the findings are near disastrous," he added.

Wan Saiful said that those in power seem to be "very good" at shaping how the poor view the quality of education in the country.

"There are too many ‘illusions of reform’ created by the various announcements by the government.  But we must remember that these are only announcements," he said further.

"But the trust of the poor should not be taken advantage of.  They need true school reform to help the next generation break away from the poverty cycle," he added.

Wan Saiful said that if Malaysians want to safeguard the future of their children, they must ensure that perception is about as close to reality.

"And the reality at the moment looks rather grim," he said.