KUCHING: The next education minister must look at the education system in Sarawak and Sabah objectively and not apply the same formula used in Malaya, said Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) deputy president Dr Jawing Chunggat.
He emphasised that Sarawak has a different set of challenges on access to quality education at all levels from primary school to university.
“These geodemographics must be taken into consideration and stakeholders must be engaged – parents, teachers, students, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs),” he said, adding that parents and teachers especially should be allowed to have a say in the education policy.
“A parachute policy without explaining it to the stakeholders will subject it to implementation inefficiency and political attacks,” he said.
Chunggat said that the large number of school dropouts and juvenile crimes in Sarawak had to be addressed as well, working together with the Sarawak government to ensure that there were no redundancies and wastage of public funds.
He was of the view that an ideal candidate to be former Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik’s successor was one from the academia who truly understood and has experienced the present education system.
“It should be someone young enough who can adapt to the present dynamic problems and utilise modern solutions, especially with regards to teaching,” he said.
He said that the successor must be able to command the people’s trust and respect.
“Policies must be communicated properly first before implementation. The rakyat must be informed on the rationale of each policy change instead of forcing it down our throats.”
Chunggat also said that the utilisation of digital media was important to impart ideas and policy changes.
He opined that anyone from Pakatan Harapan (PH) who fit the right description could be a candidate, urging, “PH must be able to look beyond racial lines and political expediency.” Maszlee quit as Education Minister effective yesterday on the advice of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir
