LAW AND EDUCATION

WEEK 11 (12 JUNE - 16 JUNE 2023)

LAW & EDUCATION

LAW & SOCIETY

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WHAT’S EDUCATION?

WHAT’S EDUCATION??

The process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits.

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The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

TYPES OF EDUCATION

Formal

Informal

Non-Formal

MALAYSIAN EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT

• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235300714_Educational_development_and_reformation_in_Malaysia_Past_present_and_future

ISSUES IN MALAYSIAN EDUCATION

The history of issues in Malaysian education started from the British government: the Barnes Report in 1951 to unite all races with the colonial language. The later Razak Report was made to replace the unsuccessful Barnes Report, and the system remains until today.

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• Language
• Gender
• Racial quotas in public universities

LANGUAGE

• UMNO champions using Malay as the medium of instruction in all schools. However, under the Razak Report, primary schools using the Chinese and Tamil language as medium of instruction are retained. Up until 1981, there were English-medium schools, set up by the former colonial government and Christian missionaries. Following the race riots in May 1969, English-medium schools were phased out from January 1970; by 1982 these became "national schools".
• Dong Jiao Zhong took on the role of safeguarding Chinese education in the country and are opposed to Malay as medium of instruction in Chinese schools.
• In 2002, the government announced that the teaching of Science and Mathematics would be done in English. The policy was heavily criticised by Malay linguists and activists which led to a massive rally in KL on 7 March 2009. The government announced in 2009 that this policy will be reversed in 2012: the teaching of both subjects would revert to Malay.
• Due to lack of Chinese and Indian students attending national schools, and increasing number of Malay students attending Chinese and Indian national-type schools, the government announced in April 2005 that all national schools will begin teaching Chinese and Tamil to attract more students as elective courses.

GENDER

In 2004 the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) representative Dr. Richard Leete stated that Malaysia's ranking in the UNDP gender index was not "as high as it should be". Former Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Shafie Salleh replied that it was not unique to Malaysia. His quoted statistics revealed that there was a 2:1 ratio of boys to girls in polytechnics and at public higher learning institutions. In virtually all developed countries females and males enter university in approximately equal ratios. Thus, the 2:1 ratio in Malaysia is seen as rather peculiar when placed in a global context.

Malaysian polytechnics and community colleges are not degree-producing institutions and none have post-graduate programmes. Most are vocational or technical institutions. This imbalance is corrected once the respective genders leave the education system.

RACIAL QUOTAS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

• In 1973, the Malaysian government implemented an affirmative action program, setting a quota of 55% of university places for Bumiputeras and the remaining 45% for Chinese and Indian students. The university quota system created considerable unhappiness among the Chinese and Indians.
• In 2010, Indians are faring badly under the meritocratic system used for university intake. Under the quota system, about 5% to 10% of the students were Indians.
• After the abolishment of the race quota, matriculation was introduced as an alternative for STPM. It has come under criticism for being easier than STPM and serves as an easier education path for Bumiputeras. Matriculation certificate, however, is only valid in Malaysia unlike STPM which is recognised across the world.

LATEST & CURRENT DEVELOPMENT ;�DUE TO COVID 19

PDPR/Home Based Teaching & Learning

Abolishment of UPSR & Cancellation of PT 3

CURRENT MALAYSIAN EDUCATION POLICY

GIST OF THE BLUEPRINT

• Offers a vision of the education system and students that Malaysia both needs and deserves, and suggests strategic and operational shifts that would be required to achieve the national education’s goal.
• 11 shifts to transform the system

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SHIFT 1

Provide equal access to quality education of an international standard • Benchmark the learning of languages, Mathematics, and Science to international standards. • Launch new Secondary School Standard Curriculum or Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM) and revised Primary School Standard Curriculum or Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) in 2017.

Revamp national examinations and school-based assessments to gradually increase percentage of questions that test higher-order thinking. • Raise quality of all preschools and encourage universal enrolment by 2020. • Move from 6 to 11 years of compulsory schooling, starting at age 6+, supported by targeted retention programmes and job- ready vocational training. • Increase investment in physical and teaching resources for student with specific needs.

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SHIFT 2

• Ensure every child is proficient in Bahasa Malaysia and English language • Introduce a standard Bahasa Malaysia curriculum at the primary level, with intensive remedial support for struggling students. • Expand the LINUS programme to include English literacy. • Upskill English teachers and expand opportunities for greater exposure to the language. • Encourage every child to learn an additional language by 2025.

SHIFT 3

Develop values-driven Malaysians • Strengthen Islamic Education, Moral Education and civics elements by 2017. • Develop students holistically by reinforcing the requirement for every student to participate in 1 Sport, 1 Club, and 1 Uniformed Body. • Enhance and scale up RIMUP from 2016 to facilitate interaction across school types.

SHIFT 4

• Transform teaching into the profession of choice • Raise the entry bar for teachers from 2013 to be amongst top 30% of graduates. • Upgrade the quality of continuous professional development (CPD) from 2013. • Focus teachers on their core function of teaching from 2013. • Implement competency and performance- based career progression by 2016.
• Enhance pathways for teachers into leadership, master teaching and subject specialist roles by 2016. • Develop a peer-led culture of professional excellence and certification process by 2025.

SHIFT 5

• Ensure high-performing school leaders in every school • Enhance selection criteria and succession planning processes for principals from 2013. • Roll out a New Principal Career Package in waves from 2013 with greater support and sharper accountability for improving student outcomes.

SHIFT 6

• Empower JPNs, PPDs, and schools to customise solutions based on need • Accelerate school improvement through systematic, district-led programmes rolled-out across all states by 2014. • Allow greater school-based management and autonomy for schools that meet a minimum performance criteria. • Ensure 100% of schools meet basic infrastructure requirements by 2015, starting with Sabah and Sarawak.

SHIFT 7

• Leverage ICT to scale up quality learning across Malaysia • Provide internet access and virtual learning environments via 1BestariNet for all 10,000 schools by 2013. • Augment online content to share best practices starting with a video library in 2013 of Guru Cemerlang delivering lessons in Science, Mathematics, Bahasa Malaysia, and English language. • Maximise use of ICT for distance and self-paced learning to expand access to high-quality teaching regardless of location or student skill level.

SHIFT 8

• Transform Ministry delivery capabilities and capacity • Empower JPNs and PPDs through greater decision making power over budget and personnel from 2013, and greater accountability for improving student outcomes. • Deploy almost 2,500 more personnel from the Ministry and JPNs to PPDs in order to better support schools by 2014. • Strengthen leadership capabilities in 150-200 pivotal leadership positions from 2013. • Strengthen key central functions and rationalise structure from 2016.

SHIFT 9

• Partner with parents, community, and private sector at scale• Equip every parent to support their child’s learning through a parent engagement toolkit and online access to their child’s in-school progress. • Invite every PIBG to provide input on contextualisation of curriculum and teacher quality from 2016. • Expand Trust School model to 500 schools by 2025 by including alumni groups and non-governmental organisations, (NGOs) as potential sponsors

SHIFT 10

• Maximise student outcomes for every ringgit • Link every programme to clear student outcomes, and annually rationalise programmes that have low impact. • Capture efficiency opportunities, with funding reallocated to the most critical areas such as teacher training and upskilling.

SHIFT 11

• Increase transparency for direct public accountability • Publish an annual public report on progress against Blueprint targets, starting from the year 2013. • Conduct comprehensive stock-takes in 2015, 2020 and 2025.

TO PONDER & WONDER:

8 years of implementation & 4 years to reach the end

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LAW

The main legislations that govern the education sector in Malaysia:�

1.  Education Act 1996.

2. Private Higher Education Institutions Act 1996 (“PHEI Act 996”).

APART FROM THE ABOVE LAWS:

(a) The National Council on Higher Education Institution Act 1996;��(b) The Malaysian Qualifications Agency Act 2007 (replacing the previous Act namely, the National Accreditation Act Board 1996 which has been repealed);��(c) The Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Act 1996;��(d) The National Higher Education Fund Corporation Act 1997;��(e) The MARA Institute of Technology (Amendment) Act 2000; and��(f) The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (Amendment) Act 2000.�

RIGHTS TO EDUCATION (MALAYSIA)

• Art. 12 0f the Federal Constitution

Meor Atiqurrahman Case

(https://www.malaysianbar.org.my/article/news/court-judgments/judgments/the-serban-case-full-judgment-delivered-by-datuk-abdul-hamid-mohamad-fcj)

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• The amendment to the Education Act 1966 in 2002 stipulates that primary education is compulsory for children of Malaysian citizens of ages 6-12 years.
• Secondary education compulsory since 2015
• The Act also stipulates that parents who fail to send their primary-going children to school shall be fined RM5000 or imprisoned or both.

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2004 CASE

TERTIARY EDUCATION?�ARE PARENTS OBLIGED?

• Decided cases suggested that if a promise is made of such then the parents are obliged to send their children to receive tertiary education/to pay for the fee

TO FURTHER DISCUSS:

Rights of Refugees/Stateless children to education

Rights of Less able (OKU) to education

Thank you for your attention.

Any questions?

END