Budget for schools not answer to improving the system, say activists

PETALING JAYA: A vernacular education activist today questioned the half-a-billion ringgit allocation in the 2018 Budget for schools, saying the fund was more about the physical state of schools than for improving the education system.

K Arumugam of the Tamil Foundation said it was disappointing to note that schools still face problems such as roof leakages and broken tiles, problems mentioned by the prime minister in his budget speech yesterday.

“After 60 years of independence, our schools are still struggling with roof leakages and broken tiles’ problems,” Arumugam told FMT.

Najib said yesterday the government was allocating RM550 million, a large chunk of which goes for national primary schools. National-type Chinese and Indian schools will receive RM50 million each.

Another education activist, Mak Chee Kin, said there was a need for funds to train teachers.

Mak, who chairs Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie), gave the example of teachers who still use Bahasa Melayu as a medium of instruction to teach the subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“There is also not enough funds to train them to teach,” he said, adding that some teachers were picked up at random to teach subjects they had not been trained in.

Early this year, the Education Ministry teamed up with two other ministries to draft a plan to address problems in the teaching of science and mathematics in schools, including training for teachers. -FMT