Waytha disagrees with khat lessons in Tamil schools

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department P Waythamoorthy, who is in charge of national unity, said he disagrees with the teaching of khat (Jawi calligraphy) in Tamil schools.

"The teaching of khat in Tamil schools in not realistic.

"At a time when there is a lot of complaints that the education system is burdening students, the government should instead find ways to reduce their burden," he said in a statement today.

Waythamoorthy said the Education Ministry's move to introduce six pages of khat lessons in the Year 4 Bahasa Malaysia textbook, which have since been reduced to three pages and made optional after pushback, came out of a sudden. 

He stressed that there were many other skills, such as coding, that students need to acquire in schools.

"Therefore, for me, the introduction of khat in Tamil schools is not necessary," Waythamoorthy said.

He added that many other ministers also disagreed with the Education Ministry's move.

The minister said those who want to learn khat can do so on their own time.

Waythamoorthy added that there are also many other issues to address in the education system, such as graduate unemployment.

Meanwhile, in a related development, a Tamil NGO today announced that it is planning a protest against the introduction of khat even tough the Education Ministry had announced revisions.

The Malaysian Tamilar Kural said the rally, called "Puratchi" (revolution), will take place on Aug 23 at 7pm in Brickfields.

The protest is expected to call on the Education Ministry to scrap the plan altogether.

The non-Malay communities have given various reasons for their objection to the khat lessons, ranging from its relevance to fear of Islamisation as Jawi, though it is the predecessor of the current romanised script for Bahasa Malaysia, is often associated with Islam.

The Education Ministry has maintained that there is no ulterior motive and that the three-page lesson is only introductory and will not see students master Jawi.

Instead, it is only to promote appreciation and students will not be evaluated on the topic in examinations. - Mkini