Several MPs set their sights o­n the education ministry today, as parliamentary secretary Mahadzir Mohd Khir held the floor during the debate.

Among the matters they raised were those of vernacular schools and the wearing of tudung in certain educational institutions.


Too few SJKCs

Kota Melaka MP Kerk Kim Hock (photo right) said the government's decision to build six Chinese schools and o­ne Tamil school under the Eighth Malaysia Plan fell short of the needs of the two communities.

He said the government move to limit the number of vernacular schools smacked of discriminatory treatment by the education ministry in allocating funds, when compared to the plan to build 191 new national schools.

"This violates the decision of the Cabinet o­n Feb 21, 2001 that schools should be built according to need. In 1999, (Chinese education movement) Dong Jiao Zong said in a memorandum to the government that at least 13 new schools were needed in Selangor, 10 in Johor and 6 in Kuala Lumpur," Kerk said.

"Now, the government wants to build o­nly five schools in Selangor and o­ne in Johor."

He also said that, between 1968 and 2002, the government opened 2,637 additional national schools, which comes down to o­ne school for every 588 students.

"Using the same ratio, there should have been 527 new Chinese schools today compared to the 1960s. Instead, the total number of Chinese schools has decreased. I think the last count between 1957 and 2000 showed an overall reduction of 46 schools," he said.

While DAP accepted the government's frequent explanations that it could not fulfill all demands, he said there should be clear criteria o­n how the government makes its decisions when it comes to allocation of funding for new schools.

In response, Mahadzir (photo) said the government has not neglected the needs of the Chinese community for vernacular schools despite frequent criticism from the education groups.

"New schools are built according to priority o­ne of which includes schools for rural areas. It is not true that the government is not building Chinese schools because there has been construction of Vision schools (a concept which incorporates vernacular schools and national schools within the same compound)," he said.

However, Mahadzir did not elaborate o­n the government's criteria o­n determining what type of schools to build, saying o­nly that there are indeed set rules.

On tudung

Kerk also took issue over reports that non-Muslim students were compelled to abide by the Muslim dress code in at least two institutions.

"I was shocked when I was told by Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan (photo left) today that she had to wear the tudung during the four years that she studied at the International Islamic University (IIU)," he said.

"Students of Polytechnic Ungku Omar (in Perak) have also been forced to purchase baju kurung from schools at RM6 a set and wear this every Friday."

Mahadzir disputed this, saying the ministry had o­n no occasion forced students to adopt such dress codes.

"It is compulsory for female students at the IIU to wear a tudung only if they are Muslim. Others are encouraged to do so, but not forced. The government has issued no instruction making it compulsory," he said.

He, however, refused to respond to the baju kurung incident, saying that the matter has been resolved and should not be discussed further.

Fong objected, insisting that she had been forced to wear a tudung at the IIU. However, Mahadzir challenged the opposition MPs to provide written proof of the allegation.