Abdul Khalid is the author of a Khazanah Research Institute study which found that less than 10 per cent of Indian children born to parents who had never gone to school or had dropped out of primary school went the full distance themselves in getting tertiary education.
The study, titled “Climbing the Ladder: Socio-Economic Mobility in Malaysia”, noted that the figure was the lowest among the three principal communities in the country – the Bumiputeras, Chinese and Indians.
Speaking to FMT, Abdul Khalid explained that the Indian community had the drive and motivation in wanting to pursue quality education which could help end the cycle of poverty, but did not have the financial means to do so.
“Things like tuition and books cost money. They want to study but they just do not have enough money.”
Another factor, he said, was that the quality of schools in estates was relatively poor compared with urban schools.
Abdul Khalid also said, based on his research, he anticipated that those lagging behind were mostly from the Tamil community.
To address the issue, he said a specific programme was needed to uplift the education mobility of Indians and that this programme should begin at a preschool level.
“This is to ensure they have better prospects than their parents. This is not just important for the Indian community but for all Malaysians.
“Unity in this country will be better when everyone has equal opportunities to succeed.
“This is why Malaysians as a whole must be supportive of education for the disadvantaged.”
Yesterday, DAP’s P Ramasamy had called on the Khazanah Research Institute to explain why the socio-economic status of Indians was declining, instead of merely releasing statistics.