Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh came under fire for telling parents they had an option of sending their children abroad if they are unhappy with the local education system.
Educationist groups opined that the minister should have been more tactful in defending the National Education Blueprint as his callous remark would have offended parents.
“It was a very defensive statement (by the minister). A lot of us save up, do away with a lot of things to give the best to our children,” said Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, chairman of the Parents Action Group for Education (PAGE).
“Those who can afford to send their children overseas do so because they want to give them a better education. Majority of the parents, however, cannot afford to do that,” Noor Azimah told The Malaysian Insider.
Idris had reportedly made the statement at a press conference after a forum with parents and teachers organised by local daily Sinar Harian in Shah Alam yesterday.
In responding to criticisms against the National Education Blueprint and the country’s education system, he said the government could not follow the wishes of everyone.
“We must know what our needs are, what is our education philosophy, what is our objective and we conduct what is best for our country. Not everyone will agree to this,” he had said.
“Some are already claiming that the system is not good and they want to send their children to Australia and England to study.
“We don’t want to stop them. But for our country we got to make sure that we are doing our best.”
DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok (pic) also responded by pointing out nobody expects all government policies to please everyone.
“But a minister must not make such ridiculous comments,” Kok said in a statement.
“Idris must remember that it is the government’s responsibility to plan and implement as well as to ‘sell’ its polices. It must be able to ‘sell’ by way of persuasion and debate,” she added.
The National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) waded into the controversy when it said the minister could have phrased his words in a more acceptable manner.
“As a minister, he shouldn’t be saying that. It is adding fuel to the fire. There are a thousand ways to address the question,” said NUTP president Hashim Adnan.
Kok, the Seputeh MP, had a sharper retort for the minister.
“Will Idris Jusoh tell Mahathir to send his grandchildren overseas to study?” she asked.
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had introduced the teaching of science and mathematics in English in 1996, a policy that was also criticised then. Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin later reverted that policy back to Bahasa Malaysia in 2009.
“This policy reversal did not please everyone, so my second question to Idris is can the government tell the people, including Dr Mahathir to send his grandchildren to study abroad if they opposed the government’s decision?” added Kok.
Noor Azimah of PAGE also stressed that parents’ decision to send their children overseas had nothing to do with the blueprint.
“It is not because we think that the blueprint won’t work. We just want the best for our children.
“Coincidentally, the QS rankings were released yesterday. If you look at it, as a parent, why would you want to send your children to universities that rank in the 700′s?” she asked.
The QS World University Rankings, a renowned annual list of universities’ performance, graded Malaysian universities with lower scores than it did last year. Local public universities saw their ranking slip downwards with Universiti Malaya (UM) leading the pack at 167 while Universiti Teknologi Mara (UITM) was ranked in the 700′s.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), the varsity that holds the Apex University status under the government’s Accelerated Programme for Excellence, saw its ranking slide to 355. – September 11, 2013.
