These kids end up victims of Edu Ministry’s interpretation
Published on: Sunday, August 11, 2024
Text Size:
pix for illustration purposes only
A few months ago, the Education Department issued a directive that made AB ineligible to attend national school.
The directive was apparently based on the Education Director-General’s circular No 3 of 2018 pertaining to the admission of non-citizen children into a national school or government-aided school.
AB falls under the Anak yang ibu bapanya adalah pemaustatin tetap Malaysia (a child whose parent is a permanent resident) category, and must fulfil certain conditions before she can continue her education in a government school.
An Executive Councillor in Penang has written to the Education Ministry as well as the Penang state education department to highlight her issue.
So far, there has been no response from the ministry, but the Penang State Education Department has replied, stating that AB does not fulfil the conditions of the Education Act 1996, the Education Regulations (Admission of Pupils to School, Register Keeping and Conditions for Retaining Pupils at School) 1998, and the director-general’s circular No 3 of 2018.
AB’s parents were informed that both of them must be permanent residents in Malaysia before their child could be admitted into a national or government-aided school.
It would appear that the Education Department has translated the word “parent” in the Education Act 1996 to “ibubapa (parents)”, thus misinterpreting the provision of the law.
Article 152(3)(b) of the Federal Constitution states that the authoritative texts of all Acts of Parliament and all subsidiary legislation issued by the Federal Government shall be in the English Language.
The query that arises here is whether the department had sought legal advice before taking action, given that the child was already attending school.
AB has missed out on school for the past three months, and her parents are running pillar to post to find a way out of this predicament.
As this is a matter of much urgency, shouldn’t the Education Ministry at least respond?
Fatimah Idris
The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express.
If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
ADVERTISEMENT
