Leaders, NGOs agree Sabah should handle education

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KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun’s call to the Education Ministry to allow Sabah and Sarawak handle their own educational development has received encouraging support from political leaders and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The Borneo Heritage Foundation’s United Borneo Front (UBF) supports the idea of shifting the educational portfolio back to the state government and laments the constant revamping of policies in the federal educational system.

The Society of Hope and DAP Sabah also back Masidi.

UBF chairman and founder Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan pointed out the needs of every State are different and we must prepare our students not only for the realities of what is out there in the State job market but also for the global workforce.

“Our children are not guinea pigs. They should not have to bear the lifetime consequence of decisions made and changed with every education minister which shows such instability and indecision.

“You can improve and expand the curriculum to be relevant to the local and international job markets but you should not limit the syllabus so as to affect their chances of securing gainful employment.

“We need our own Ministry of Education in Sabah to look into the K-12 curriculum, the expansion of Malaysian and international universities here and the training and employment of Sabah teachers in their own State as well as provide local people the chance to erect local schools,” he said.

He added that subjects such as local native languages and native cultures would enhance understanding between foreign and local children based in Sabah and that the priorities of West Malaysian educational bodies differ in areas like teaching Maths and Science in English as well as the history of the State.

“Our federal history syllabus does not highlight the realities of Sabah’s past political leaders and their contribution to state and nation and they omit essential information pertaining to what this state considers to be important like the documents leading up to the formation of this country as well as the historic 16th September 1963.

“We need to teach our Sabah children the genesis of our various tribes and the important significance and influence that Brunei, Sulu and Britain have in our demographic structure; why certain clothes and certain dialects and certain foods are the way they are.”

Jeffrey also said that the state government had to reinforce their right to a state controlled educational system as provided in law under Article 8 of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and Chapter III, Section 17 of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report 1962.

“The IGC report is very clear on the issue that the state government is to be in full control of educational policies and the administration of education in our state. It further mentions that we may continue the use of English throughout our curriculum and that we are not required to enforce any religious instruction in our schools.

“We are quite capable of working in joint venture with foreign examination bodies like Britain’s GCSE system and the International Baccalaureate as well as the federal examination body when devising our own state educational system and examination board.

“In Australia, for instance, every state has its own examination board and high school qualifications. Therefore, the UBF hopes that Datuk Masidi will form a working committee to look into the realities of this as the minister in charge of education in this State.”

Masidi, who is also the minister in charge of education in the state, said the Education Ministry should consider leaving it to East Malaysia to handle their own educational development as both states are far from the ministry in Peninsular Malaysia.

“I am not saying this because we are greedy for power but we are serious about working together with the federal government to improve our education standard in Sabah. If Sabah education is good, it will also be good for Malaysia as well,” he said on Tuesday.

Masidi also said more Sabahan teachers should be allowed to teach in the State.

“The Education Ministry should look at our geographical challenges that we have to face in order to deliver the best education for our children. If there are teachers from Nabawan or Sipitang qualified to be teachers, they should be teaching in their own place because they know how to deal with the kids,” he said.