Has it ever occurred to you that right in the heart of the Klang Valley there might be a bunch of Orang Asli kids still struggling to gain literacy?

This shocking news came to me from a friend who is currently volunteering to give tuition to a group of Orang Asli children in Bukit Lanjan, a hill located nearby Damansara Perdana.

In the past, several studies have found that distance to school, poverty, shortage of teachers and lack of identification cards were the main factors leading to poor school attendance and dropout problems among the Orang Asli kids.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) started several initiatives to prevent dropouts among the Orang Asli kids, including financial assistance for poor students, textbook loans, supplementary food programmes (RTM) and more.

These initiatives to improve the quality of education at elementary schools have been highlighted in the Malaysia Education Blueprint, which was specifically designed to solve the problem.  For example, to encourage full schooling attendance, the MOE set up a special school model catered for the Orang Asli kids known as the Special Comprehensive Model School programme, or K9.

Parental involvement in children’s education was also identified as an important factor to prevent dropouts. The MOE started adult education classes called KEDAP, aimed at helping parents increase their literacy and numeracy knowledge in order to support and assist their children’s learning process.

Yet, despite the rolling out of plans and initiatives specifically targeting the issue of the Orang Asli’s educational struggle, it seems that many Orang Asli kids are still struggling with low literacy rates, low attendance and dropout problems. 

Adjustment of classes and age

In Malaysia, primary school typically starts at the age of 7 and students are divided into classes based on age, regardless of their level of literacy.  The friend who is currently giving tuition to the Orang Asli kids in Bukit Lanjan found that the reason why they struggled to follow the school syllabus is because their levels of literacy are much lower than that of their classmates.  For example,  one 11 year-old was placed in a primary 5 class, but his or her literacy rate was at best, only at  primary 3 level. 

According to the 2016 annual report of the Malaysia Education Blueprint, low literacy and numeracy skills were major factors hindering Orang Asli students’ progress and achievements at secondary level, and subsequently contributing to drop out risk.   

Instead of sorting them into classrooms using the conventional age-based system, a flexible policy for the Orang Asli children should be implemented, taking into account their different background and developmental environment.

Attractive and relevant syllabus needed

The national school system (including Orang Asli schools) is using the same learning syllabus, but it seems like the content is not relatable and relevant to the Orang Asli kids.

This is mainly due to the contrast in pedagogy and learning culture. Unlike the national system, where knowledge is primarily delivered through a fixed syllabus in schools, the culture of the Orang Asli learning process is multi-faceted and draws upon multiple sources.  For example, children are taught to be polite through their indigenous language and through their arts and crafts, they learn to make tools. Through oral expression of legends and folklore, pride and identity are instilled in being a member of the community. 

The existing syllabus that Orang Asli students are being made to follow has its roots in an urban context, which does not resonate well among the Orang Asli communities.  The MOE should propose a more customized syllabus for the Orang Asli kids, especially at primary level, so that what they learn, and the examples used in the textbooks are more familiar and relatable to them.  

Beside textbooks, there should be efforts to develop story books and reading materials that cater for the Orang Asli.   A major complaint cited by Orang Asli student teachers is an evident   lack of interest in schooling.  At the very least, these materials could help encourage the interest of Orang Asli kids to pick up the reading habit, using content that is closer to their culture and daily life.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a documentary screening organised by Freedom Film Festival 2017, titled ‘Sharing stories: Indigenous Digital Storytelling’.  This short documentary collected the voices and the views of 11 Orang Asli kids.  ‘Racism and discrimination’ – this is how the Orang Asli kids described treatment at their schools.  They wished to make friends with kids of other races in the school, yet they felt that this was impossible as they were often branded and stereotyped by their peers.

As a concerned society, we should work towards reversing this culture of bullying and discrimination and not only by joining volunteer works.  We should engage and communicate with the Orang Aslis, to understand their culture and language.  As parents, we should teach our children to be open-minded and to make friends with Orang Asli kids at school, instead of ostracising and bullying them.

 Their voices should be heard

 Finally, a specific policy to prevent dropout and increasing literacy rate should also include opinions from the Orang Asli communities. Their voices are important too.

In the case of the missing Orang Asli kids, the children had reportedly bathed in the river without getting permission from their teachers. They had then run away from their hostel and hid in the jungle, out of fear of punishment.  Most of these children were no older than 11. Is it wise to make Orang Asli children attend boarding school at such a young age, when they have next to no knowledge of the world beyond their traditional society? At the very least, their parents should have been consulted.

The Orang Asli boarding schools were set up with the intention of reducing dropout rates. Though built with good intention, the MOE should have put more thought into considering the challenges of these children living by themselves at such a young age, and develop proper guidelines for the school and hostel operating system. Something as simple as raising the age of admission into these schools might have prevented such a tragedy from occurring. 

Not forgetting the teachers stationed at these schools, who themselves play an important role as educators, the MOE should consider the challenges that they may face, living in the remote areas.  Accessibility and upkeep is a major concern.  Not everyone can easily adapt to the environment like teacher Ahmad Saidin, who rides his motorcycle through 130 km of muddy road each day to teach in an Orang Asli school.  

The ultimate goal of our education system is to ensure full enrolment of all children from preschool through to upper secondary school level by 2020. In my opinion, we should strive to build an education policy that not only ensures increase in enrolment rate but also academic achievement and quality as a whole for this to happen. – September 24, 2017.

* Esther Sinirisan Chong is a member of Agora Society. She was born and raised in the Land Below the Wind. Her research interest lies in education and government policies, and the history and heritage of East Malaysia.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.