Gerak: Unreactive education ministries like 'deer caught in headlights'

 

The Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (Gerak) has called on the Higher Education Ministry to be more proactive during a time of lockdown and political paralysis.

The group said the reaction from the ministry resembles a deer caught in the headlights.

"We wish to highlight the recent plea and proposal on the sidelines of Parliament by the MP for Simpang Renggam and former education minister Maszlee Malik and the related comments by Parti Sosialis Malaysia committee member, Sharan Raj.

"For the duration of this pandemic, Maszlee has consistently provided proposals that address education problems that students, teachers and parents are facing due to this pandemic.

"His proposals appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Indeed, we could say the same for any suggestions proposed by groups and individuals in Malaysia who are not part of the regime.

"Both education ministries are no different and appear to have been provided some manual authorising them to act bodoh sombong (stupid and arrogant) when questioned and criticised," said the Gerak exco in a statement today.

"Indeed, their stance reflects the proverbial hapless deer caught in the headlights of Malaysia's most dire political crisis spawned by this pandemic.

"And yet, they also behave like arrogant aristocrats who disdain being pushed for coherent policy responses," it added.

Maszlee had called for government-subsidised fees for students from B40 and M40 families (bottom and middle 40 percent of income earners) who are enrolled in private higher education institutions.

Apart from that, he also asked for a two-year tax break until the situation improves, given that the private higher education sector is an important industry for the country.

“(The government) should also provide visa waivers and reduced visa payments to EMGS (Education Malaysia Global Services) for international students who registered online, and study online at any university, whether public or private in this pandemic, until they arrive in Malaysia,” he said last week.

Gerak said while the pandemic has hit Malaysian higher education severely, it is the private higher education sector that appears to have been the most badly hit.

"Pre-Covid-19 and pre-lockdown, this sector, according to reports, had more than 40 percent share of tertiary level students (530,000 students) in Malaysia, contributing more than RM30 billion to the country’s income in 2018.

"It is a very important sector for the country but has needed assistance over the past year or so. Sadly, help in a concerted, planned manner evidently has not been forthcoming,” said Gerak.

The group called on the Higher Education Ministry to tackle the issue of private higher education institutions which it claimed are actually set up to exploit the poorer public and provide education of dubious quality.

"How they got accreditation in the first place only the authorities can explain. On offhand, the term 'political crony' often enough crops up.

"The point is that these dubious institutions should not be saved. But their students will need rescuing, and locating them in the many public vocational colleges, as proposed by Raj, could be the answer," said Gerak.

The academic grouping said the opportunity for a genuine qualitative assessment and much-needed pruning - and not political bailing out - of the private higher education sector can and must be taken by the authorities.

"This must be done systematically and professionally, led by a team of genuine and independent academic experts, certainly not the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), which is hindered by its own credibility issues," it said bluntly.

"Whether it is pruning, tax exemptions, a tax holiday, tuition fee subsidies or the transfer of academically qualified students to other public institutes of higher education, the ministry must come out of its deep slumber.

"Precious time has been wasted already, due largely to the ineptness of quite useless people at the very top of the ministry," it concluded. - Mkini

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