Maszlee
KOTA KINABALU: Plans to set up a school for undocumented Malaysian children in Sabah are in the works, according to Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik.
This is following a policy declared in Parliament earlier this year, to provide education to children born in Malaysia but were not documented.
Speaking to the press after a townhall session at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) yesterday, Maszlee also said the government would facilitate the documentation process for children attending the school.
“It’s very unfortunate that some of these children are not documented for reasons only their parents know. These are children born in Malaysia. We would not only open schools for them, but also facilitate in the documentation process,” he explained.
Earlier during the town hall session, Maszlee said education should be for all, regardless of social standing.
He said this in response to students who asked about education for stateless children, among others.
He also said 1,184 out of 2,635 undocumented children were in Sabah.
He said this amplified the need to provide them with education and aid in the documentation process, and added that education would help shape children to become upstanding citizens.