Review boarding school admission policy, say MPs

Review boarding school admission policy, say MPs

A group of opposition MPs issue a joint statement stating that the government's current policy discriminates against students from vernacular schools.

The MPs from DAP, Warisan, PKR and Amanah say the present policy is in conflict with the aim of an inclusive education system.
PETALING JAYA:
Several opposition MPs have urged the government to review the policy that does not allow pupils from religious primary schools (SRAs) and vernacular schools to apply for admission into full boarding schools (SBPs).

The call was made in a joint statement by DAP’s Kulai MP and former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching, Warisan’s Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis, Amanah’s Tampin MP Hasan Bahrom, PKR’s Sungai Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah and DAP’s Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar.

According to them, the review was needed to enable an inclusive education system and to strengthen the national education policy which aimed to prioritise access to education for all.

The MPs said that it was also important and relevant in providing educational opportunities to those in the B40 group.

They said the government’s current policy on boarding schools was in conflict with the aim of an inclusive education system because it discriminated against thousands of multiracial students in vernacular schools applying for admission into SBPs.

“The education system now includes more than 1,300 Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC), more than 500 Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) and more than 130 SRAs nationwide,” they said.

“This policy directly closes government-funded educational opportunities to citizens simply because they chose to study in a different school stream.”

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