Kuala Lumpur: The Education Ministry’s (MOE) assurance that there will be no issue of rising food prices in school canteens shows the government’s concern with the current economic challenges faced by the people, parents said.
A civil servant, Eliani Ismail, 33, hopes the government will provide a monitoring team so that the matter is adhered to by all parties involved.
“I hope the government will also focus on the food quality and how it is prepared by school canteens. They need to ensure that the food sold has enough nutrition for the children because we want them to grow up healthy,” said Eliani, who has a child in Year Two.
On Thursday, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek gave assurance that the issue of price increase will not arise as the price is stipulated in the guidelines and agreement between the canteen operators and the schools.
Asked about the ministry’s move not to reintroduce the previous system of assessing students through examinations such as Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Form Three Assessment (PT3), Eliani said such examinations were crucial in ensuring that students would concentrate on their studies to achieve good results.
“There needs to be a main examination to test the children’s understanding throughout their time in primary school. However, the syllabus should be reviewed, and the questions should be appropriate to their level.
“UPSR and PT3 play a vital role in determining the qualification to enter quality secondary school. That is how we can assess our child’s level of education,” she told Bernama.
Another parent, Nur Haslinda Roszahari, 40, said the government’s move to ensure no food price increase in schools proves that it understands the burden faced by the people due to the rising cost of living.
“For example, we give one child RM5 as pocket money for one school session and another RM5 for religious school session. This means we have to allocate at least RM10 per day.
“Just imagine what the situation is like for those with more than one child,” said the civil servant who has two children in school.
Meanwhile, Nur Haslinda hoped the government would review the scrapping of UPSR and PT3 as the current assessment method is less effective in producing students who excel in academics and extracurricular activities.
“Students no longer have a target they need to achieve, and admission to boarding schools is also becoming more difficult. Therefore, in my opinion, UPSR and PT3 need to be reinstated, so our children have a direction,” she said.
A housewife, Roslina Abu Ahamad, 42, said both UPSR and PT3 are important in ensuring that students are ready to sit for major examinations, such as Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
