No need for unity schools, say activists

 

A class in progress at a vernacular school. (File pic)

PETALING JAYA: Education activists have rejected the idea of setting up unity schools to get Malaysians of all races to study together, saying it will be like reinventing the wheel.

Commenting on a proposal by Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin, spokesmen for the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) and the Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) said the government needed only to improve the quality of national schools to encourage parents to send their children there.

Bung recently said that unity was difficult to achieve because of the many different school systems in the country. He made particular mention of the existence of vernacular schools alongside national schools.

The issue of vernacular schools has long been debated, with critics often claiming they are a stumbling block to integration and racial harmony.

Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim.

Speaking to FMT, PAGE founder Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said many Malay and Indian parents chose to send their children to Chinese schools because of their reputation for good standards of discipline and for quality education.

“Quality education is a priority to most parents,” she said. “If the government were to close vernacular schools tomorrow, there will be a major backlash.”

She said the government should focus on raising the quality of education in national schools to the point where parents would be convinced they were better than vernacular schools.

Magpie chairman Mak Chee Kin said parents would always strive to give their children the best education.

He told FMT he believed people accusing vernacular schools of causing racial disunity were doing so for political expediency.- FMT