The Malaysian Insight

EDUCATION experts and child rights advocates have expressed concern that the country will not go forward if the government does not strengthen the current school education system battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

They suggested that a targeted approach has to begin for pupils from poor backgrounds so that they do not remain left behind.

While schools are shifting classes online, it is found that one in five children from the urban poor have lost interest in studying while 7% of upper secondary children are no longer attending lessons since the movement-control order (MCO).

This was also revealed in the latest “Families on The Edge” report, a joint study by Unicef and United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) on the urban poor in Kuala Lumpur.

Most of these children have little or no access to online classes due to internet or equipment limitations, the report stated.

A recent interview by The Malaysian Insight with children from low-cost flats also discovered that they lack the self-motivation and inspiration to study.

Sharmila Sekaran, co-founder of Voice of the Children (VoC) said, “If we do not address the education issue with great urgency, we will create an uneducated nation.

“While it may serve political purposes, at the end of the day, we are going to become a nation easily taken over, this is a real problem.”

Commenting on the findings of the “Families on the Edge” report, Sharmila said what is one in five today is an exponential growth tomorrow because these children will go on to have families.

“Statistics have shown that poorer communities tend to have more children,” said the child rights advocate who advises on several special task forces in the government to consider necessary law reforms to ensure the protection of children.

She believes that an impact on the urban poor children’s literacy is an impact on the whole society.

“Unity is the power of the nation. If we cannot ensure that our weakest person is of a particular standard, then as a nation, we will fall.”

The Education Ministry recently announced the closure of schools nationwide until January next year due to Covid-19 infection risk, a move which Education International, a global organisation for teachers, with 33 million members from 172 countries, did not agree with.

Education International Asia Pacific chief regional coordinator Anand Singh said this is an issue faced globally but the most sensible thing to do is to find ways to keep schools open.

“For the last 10 to 15 years, we have done a tremendous amount in improving access for the B40 children to education. But because of school closures, we are at risk of losing all that.

“This is a group of pupils who may not return to school, and then we will be heading back to 10 years before.

“These pupils might go back to child labour, child slavery, sexual harassment and all those things will happen again,” Anand said.

Education International has been in constant contact with teachers worldwide as they find ways to keep education going despite the pandemic.

Anand suggested the government also discuss with stakeholders, particularly teachers and  teaching unions.

“Maybe the government will need to invest in the sanitisation of the schools or create social distancing within the classroom.

“These can be discussed with the practitioners, who are our teachers who know their pupils and the realities faced by the pupils.”

Sharmila added very little has been done to inspire the B40 children and a targeted approach is required instead of a blanket education syllabus for all pupils in the nation.

“For children from poorer communities, there is the fact that parents are not convinced that education is the way forward. There are no aspirations.

“If a certain income is required within the family, once a child comes of a certain age, then they are expected to contribute to the income rather than going to school.

“A lot more work needs to be done in ensuring that children are able and are encouraged to cope within the school system and to also address the concerns of the parents.”

Sharmila urged the government to also set a literacy goal for these children and what they should be expected to grasp by the age of 20. – November 14, 2020.