THE next education minister must make national schools the first choice for parents, Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said.

While Maszlee Malik, who resigned from the post effective January 3, improved access to education for poor, marginalised and special-needs pupils, there is much more to be done to strengthen the country’s public education system that has long been criticised for poor teaching quality and policy flip-flops.

“(The new minister) must make national schools parents’ first choice by embarking on 21st century learning and making our pupils globally competitive for careers that don’t yet exist,” Noor Azimah said when asked about education groups’ choice of candidate for Maszlee’s successor.

A long-standing criticism some parents have about national schools is the claim of Islamisation and increasing racial and religious discrimination.

Noor Azimah said to make public schools the preferred choice of parents, race and religious considerations should be eradicated from school decisions.

Religious education, meanwhile, should be the responsibility of the state, she added.

Some episodes at certain schools in recent years which have alarmed Malaysians about the direction of national schools include segregation of drinking cups between Muslim and non-Muslim children, and separate canteens for pupils based on religion.

Noor Azimah said more focus should be given to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, adding that science labs should be well equipped, operational and utilised to the fullest.

Teaching of the English language should also be enhanced and the dual-language programme, currently voluntary and up to certain schools to implement, should be scaled up, she said.

Another key issue the incoming minister must address is teacher quality. Some problems include teacher absenteeism and continuous professional development, she said.

Teachers’ licensing and assessment methods should also be reviewed for greater objectivity.

The new minister should also look at holding a single session for all schools instead of the current double, or separate morning and afternoon sessions.

Noor Azimah suggested that the education minister have a second deputy minister to ease the workload.

She said while Maszlee has yet to tackle these more substantive issues, the incoming minister should nevertheless continue his legacy for poor and marginalised pupils.

“The new minister should continue to guarantee quality, inclusive education for all pupils, including ensuring the sustainability of the previous minister’s legacies for the marginalised,” she said.

Asked whether the new minister should be an academic, she said this is not necessary but could help, especially when dealing with public institutions of higher learning “which are peculiar and ultra-sensitive”.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has yet to announce Maszlee’s replacement and speculation is rife that the new minister will be from the same political party, Bersatu, with former Umno minister Mustapa Mohamed’s name as one of those tipped for the job.

The Malaysian Academic Movement (Gerak), however, has proposed two names that are not politically aligned.

They are prominent economist and former member of the Council of Eminent Persons, Jomo Kwame Sundaram, and former UKM vice-chancellor Mohd Sham Mohd Sani, said Gerak general-secretary Rosli Mahat.

“If it is not them (Jomo or Sham), Gerak expects the new minister to be just as qualified and capable as both of our proposed candidates. Well versed with the various fundamentals of academic rights,” Rosli said when contacted. – January 6, 2020.