Stop treating children like 'lab rats' with shifting policies, says Bersatu MP

 

PARLIAMENT | Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah) has urged the government to stop “treating children like lab rats” with its inconsistent and half-baked education policies.

While debating the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat today, the Bersatu leader stressed that the lack of a coherent education policy would also only lead to children becoming “increasingly confused by the government’s policy experiments”.

“Avoid turning children into lab rats, or otherwise, they risk becoming victims of inconsistent policies that are always changing,” she said.

Mas Ermieyati (above) also stressed the need to implement a thorough and comprehensive policy, especially in regard to early education, to ensure that education “doesn’t risk simply being a matter of trial and error”.

Her remarks were in response to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who told the Dewan Rakyat earlier today that he had agreed to scrap the proposed diagnostic screening test for primary school entry, after the move had courted criticism from various parties.

Last week, Anwar launched the 2026-2035 National Education Plan, which saw the introduction of several new initiatives, including giving parents the option to enrol their six-year-old children in Year One if they believe their children are ready.

The entry into Year One at age six has not been made mandatory, but parents are encouraged to consider enrolling their children, alongside a new policy that requires pre-school entry at age five.

Planned to begin next year, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek initially said the implementation would be carried out in phases and involve diagnostic assessments to determine the individual children’s readiness.

‘Talk to PM first, Fadhlina’

Meanwhile, Mas Ermieyati also criticised Anwar’s policy “U-turn”, taking jibes at his remarks from last week, when he suggested that parents should simply perform “solat istikarah” (prayers seeking counsel and clarity) to determine if they were ready to enrol their children early.

“It was only a week ago when Anwar suggested that parents perform those prayers and have a heart-to-heart talk with their children to decide on the matter.

“Yet, before these parents even had the chance to do so, the government has suddenly announced these new changes.

“If this is the case, I would like to propose that the education minister should instead perform the ‘solat istikarah’, and to have a heart-to-heart talk with the prime minister first, before making any announcements and decisions on a national level,” she stressed.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek

Separately, the Bersatu leader also urged the government to view early education and primary school education cohesively and as a continuity, instead of being treated as “separate segments”.

She suggested the ministry expand its scope of early education to include children as young as 18 months old, instead of focusing solely on children beginning ages four to six - citing this as a global standard that has been used by many developed countries.

Engage private stakeholders

Mas Ermieyati also called for more engagement with private stakeholders to address inequity within the early education sector.

“We should not forget that 80 percent of early education in our country is driven by the private sector.

“The Education Ministry should engage with them as strategic partners in this 2026-2035 education plan,” she said.

Mas Ermieyati also called for more cohesion between ministerial departments in charge of pre-school education; noting the discrepancies between the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry, Education Ministry, and the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

“Perhaps, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry can be in charge of welfare matters in kindergartens, but its education rationale must still be driven and led by the Education Ministry.

“Right now, private kindergartens are also still bound by regulations under these three different ministries. Even the cost of one license can reach up to tens of thousands of ringgit,” she highlighted.

Earlier today, other opposition MPs, including Bersatu’s Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) and PAS’ Ahmad Fadhli Shaari had also criticised Anwar’s “U-turn” on the diagnostic testing policy.

Radzi, who is also former education minister, had urged the government to assess its current capacities for teachers, classrooms, and supporting facilities before proceeding with the plan, and instead proposed a phased admissions process based on date of birth to replace the scrapped diagnostic test.

Meanwhile, Fadhli described the government’s backtracking as “proof” that policymakers had only proposed half-baked policies without further thought, before launching the plan last week. - Mkini