I agree with Aman Rais' article, [#1]Mahathir meracau lagi...[/#] (23 Mac). It is unbelievable that the prime minister can make such inflammatory statements about national schools without proof. If the opposition were to make the same statements, they would be in jail instantly.

Most of the rhetoric surrounding national and vision schools is anecdotal and not based on statistics. But it is evident that even the so-called best national schools, such as Victoria Institution, Methodist Boys Schools, Bukit Bintang Girls School, etc., have deteriorated in standards. In the glory days, these schools produced the top A- and O-level students who could easily obtain scholarships to study overseas.

What Mahathir cannot explain is how during his watch, these schools have done so badly. Considering this, how can vernacular schools even contemplate giving the government control?

The biggest flaw with Vision Schools is that they are under government control. If the government really want to realise Vision Schools, then it must give up its control. Let the school boards/community decide how they want to run the schools. The government's role should be just to provide funding and encouragement.