TEACHING khat in Tamil schools is not realistic, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P. Waytha Moorthy.

In a Malaysiakini report, he brandedthe Education Ministry’s move of reducing the pages of khat lessons to three pages from six pages previously as sudden.

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

Waytha said there are other skills, such as coding, that students should acquire in schools, hence it is unnecessary for the calligraphic art to be introduced at Tamil schools.

Adding that many other ministers also disagreed with the Education Ministry’s move, Waytha said those who are looking to learn the art could do so in their own time.

Waytha said there are other more pertinent issues in the education system, such as unemployment among graduates, that should be addressed.

The minister who looks after Indian affairs is the latest to air his dissent over the teaching of the subject after several Chinese and Tamil groups had earlier expressed unhappiness over the decision.

The United Chinese School Committees Association (Dong Zong) said on Saturday that it will launch a petition opposing the teaching of khat in vernacular schools, despite assurances from the Education Ministry that it will not be an examination subject.

Dong Zong chairman Tan Tai Kim said the campaign will draw support from Chinese associations, education boards, parent-teacher associations, alumni groups and Tamil education groups.

He said the petition will call for the Education Ministry to only retain the introduction of khat alongside Chinese and Tamil writing for the Year Five Bahasa Malaysia syllabus.

“Non-Muslim students being introduced to khat is unacceptable to the non-Muslim community and violates Article 12(3) of the federal constitution,” he said during a press conference yesterday.

The drive comes after the cabinet decided to proceed with the introduction of khat lessons for Year Four pupils in vernacular schools, but with some adjustments, said Education Minister Maszlee Malik on Thursday.

The education minister said the decision was reached at the weekly cabinet meeting after discussing objections to the inclusion of khat in the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus.

Under the new cabinet instructions, khat lessons will cover three pages of the Year Four BM textbook, down from the six pages proposed previously.

“The cabinet also decided that the introduction of khat will be optional, with teachers given the power to decide on its implementation in their respective classrooms,” Maszlee told a press conference in Putrajaya. – August 11, 2019.