Explain ban on non-Muslim activities in MRSM, says education group

Students in a hall at a campus of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara. A group of NGOs says an independent monitoring body is needed to oversee implementation of the Malaysian higher education blueprint. – MRSM pic, February 14, 2015.

A coalition of NGOs mooting educational reform wants those responsible over the ban on non-Muslim religious activities on campuses of the Mara junior science college (MRSM) in Sarawak to be held accountable.

National Education Reform Initiative (Neri) exco member Tan Yew Sing told The Malaysian Insider today that this was among the reasons an independent monitoring body was needed to monitor the implementation of the Malaysian Education Blueprint (Higher Education) 2015-2025 to ensure it met its objectives.

"We find that these decisions go against what the government wants to achieve in terms of fostering national unity and social integration.

"Those who make such decisions should be held responsible and that is why we are saying there is a need for an independent monitoring body to track the implementation of the education blueprint," he said.

Tan, who represents The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, was speaking on the sidelines of the press conference by Neri which presented recommendations and feedback on the blueprint.

Adding that the Education Ministry had failed to engage in proper consultation with the public on the blueprint which has been in the works for about 18 months, Tan said however that they had the opportunity to meet with and give their views to the ministry's consultant on the blueprint, Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Saleh Jaafar, last week.

Among the recommendations put forward by Neri was that higher education skills must emphasise cultural and human values, especially in contributing to the fight against poverty, discrimination and injustice, said Neri exco member Professor Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom, who represents Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia.

He added that the basic curriculum must also include multicultural education and balanced ethnic studies for the promotion of national unity.

He said that Malaysia was at a dangerous point of polarisation, extreme racism and religious bigotry.

"It is still not too late, but if we don't act now, in another five to 10 years, we are going to have a big problem with national unity, and people will be highly suspicious of one another and there will be extreme paranoia.

"If we don't check this trend, the next generation will suffer," he said.

Dr Hatta said their recommendations to the ministry also noted that students must be encouraged to get involved in academic and co-curricular activities that are interfaith and cross-cultural in nature.

Tan said another problem in the governance of education was that while the government had a high allocation of resources for higher education, which is ranked 12 out of 50 countries, the output was way below expectation, ranked 44 out of 50 countries, citing official sources.

He added that Malaysian universities were ranked low internationally but there was an increasing budget for higher education.

In addition, most students are deemed unemployable by employers, he said.

“The question is not only where has the money gone, but how efficiently and effectively has it been used.

“We want to put in a dollar and get a lot more, but here it seems to be the other way around.”

As such, Tan stressed the need for an independent body to track the effectiveness of the blueprint, adding that the ministry could not be given the task to “monitor and examine itself”.

"We are also proposing that the education minister and civil servants be held responsible for all key performance indicators," he added.

The other recommendation put forward by Neri was for decentralisation of authority, which includes ensuring autonomy and academic freedom of public universities.

Dr Hatta also urged the ministry to do away with other regulations that muzzled academic staff.

He said the ministry should also be more open and engage with the public at all times, not only when it had a blueprint to pass.

He added that the blueprint was expected to be presented to the Cabinet next month.

"This blueprint belongs to the nation and not the federal or state governments," he said, adding that the public should be properly consulted.

- TMI