Make preschool compulsory to ensure children’s literacy, govt told

 

The education ministry has been urged to review preschool programmes.

PETALING JAYA: 

An educationist has urged the government to make preschool education mandatory to ensure that all children have mastered reading, writing and arithmetic when they enter Year 1.

This comes after the education ministry revealed that 122,062 Year 1 pupils had been identified as needing intervention in the three fundamentals, also known as the 3R skills.

Educational sociologist Anuar Ahmad said it was almost like a punishment to segregate these students into intervention classes when it was not mandatory for children aged five and six to go to preschool.

“If we really want our children to master reading, writing and arithmetic by the time they enter primary school, it must be compulsory for all children to go to preschool. 

If they complete preschool and still cannot master the 3R skills by the time they’re in Year 1, then send them for intervention classes. That would be fairer,

 the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academic told FMT.

Anuar said the latest statistic was a warning for the ministry to review its existing policies on early childhood education, adding that intervention classes were merely a stop-gap measure that the ministry should not be relying on.

“The government needs to come up with a policy that would ensure our children master reading, writing and arithmetic before they enter Year 1.

Otherwise, the number of Year 1 students who have yet to master the 3R skills will increase year by year,

 he said, describing the issue as a critical problem for the national education system.

On Monday, education director-general Azman Adnan said 122,062 Year 1 pupils were enrolled in a three-month intervention programme for reading, writing and arithmetic beginning last month.

He said 62,928 students had not mastered both reading and arithmetic, 45,465 were struggling with reading, and 13,669 had difficulties with arithmetic.

Early childhood education expert Mastura Badzis said there was a need for teachers and the education ministry to find ways to create an interest in reading rather than forcing the children to learn to read through a three-month programme.

Mastura, of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia, also said separating these students into special classes would put them under more pressure, taking away the joy of learning.

We should use the three months to foster an interest in reading rather than forcing them to read. In developed nations, they don’t pressure students into reading but instead emphasise the joy and benefits of reading.

Meanwhile, Saedah Siraj, a professor of curriculum development at Universiti Malaya, warned that the education ministry must nip the problem in the bud or risk having a higher number of illiterate Malaysians.

She called for a review of preschool programmes and suggested the ministry make reading a subject on its own, on top of the language subjects. - FMT