Sarawakian mothers are hoping that the newly elected federal government will look into improving the country’s education system. – Malay Mail photo
AS Malaysians gear up for the 15th General Election (GE15) this Nov 19, Sarawakian mothers are hoping that the newly elected federal government will look into improving the country’s education system.
Bridgette Donald hoped that the new government would be able to provide a better platform for online learning.
“In terms of education, significant changes in trends and skills in guiding children have evolved and therefore, the method we have all been applying since a decade ago is no longer applicable in teaching our children today.
“We expect the government to provide a better platform for online learning and to make the learning process more exciting and thus, more ‘friendly’ to users,” she told The Borneo Post.
Bridgette with her youngest son, Brandon.
The mother-of-two also suggested that the Ministry of Education provide past years’ papers for parents, teachers and students to refer to.
“At the moment, these papers are not even disclosed on any website nor given to teachers to prepare their students for official exams,” she said.
On financial education assistance from the government, Bridgette, an occupation digital marketing associate, said scholarships should be given fairly and that the government should consider giving discounts for education loan repayment based on the results of each student.
“This will encourage the students to aim for good results,” she said.
Eleanor Nandong also hoped that the country’s education system will be improved once the new federal government is formed.
“The education system now seems to be going backwards. For instance, the way Mathematics is taught to students today is different from what we learnt.
“The students were doing so well when the subject was taught in English,” she said.
Eleanor with her son Eduard James during his graduation.
She felt that these days, parents who want better education for their children would prefer to send them to private schools, if they could.
“And we know that not many can afford to do so,” said Eleanor, who has a six-year-old son.
The single mother, who founded handcraft collective Yarn, Wild and Free, also called for more government assistance to be channeled to single mothers.
“The cost of living has skyrocketed and for single mothers, who are the sole breadwinner, trying to make ends meet with the rising costs has been a struggle,” she said.
For Diana David Itang, she said Malaysia’s education standard has been slipping badly with local graduates finding it difficult to secure a job.
“I feel that the new government should focus on introducing English as the main language for communication much like what was taught and practised in the past. After all, English is the language of international communication.
“The current government policy on education is not helping students do better in English and even those who graduated from local universities have poor command in the language, both spoken and written,” said the mother-of-two.
Diana David Itang
She added that the Ministry of Education must ensure that the teachers themselves are proficient in teaching English as well.
Diana, who is a project manager for non-governmental organisation Mercy Malaysia Sarawak, also hoped that dilapidated schools in rural areas particularly in Sarawak will be immediately repaired under the administration of the new government.
“The repairing of dilapidated schools must be of top priority,” she stressed.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3WvAXqe
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