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Former education minister Musa Mohamad once stated in 2000 that Tamil schools should be regarded as 'the responsibility of the community' although the Constitution provides that "there shall be no discrimination against any citizen… in providing out of the funds of a public authority financial aid for the maintenance or education of pupils or students in any educational institution (…)"
In 1957, there were approximately 888 Tamil schools which were established in rubber estates predominantly resided by workers of South Indian origin.
Today the number has been reduced to 523 mainly for the purposes of development.
During a 90-minute exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, MIC president S Samy Vellu argued that since gaining independence from the colonial rulers, his party has persistently struggled to maintain and improve the schools.
You have been going around collecting money from the public to put up buildings for Tamil schools. Why is the government not doing enough to upgrade Tamil schools to the level of national schools?
According to the older Act, there are two types of schools. One is fully-aided Tamil school and the other, partially-aided Tamil school. The rule at that time was that for partially-aided Tamil schools, the government would pay the salary of the teachers and provide the necessary facilities but parents and the public would have to contribute to put up the school building.
But I have been working on the government's mind for the last 29 years saying that this requirement cannot be fulfilled and cannot be done.
I explained (to the government) then, that in an estate, there are only workers and they cannot afford to build it… so if they are to have a school, that school has to be built by the government otherwise there will not be any school and the children will receive no education.
From the time I became a minister in 1979, I have been fighting on this case. Gradually only in 1983 we started building the first batch of schools with full government support. Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad initially approved RM5.6 million to build the first batch of 12 partially-aided schools.
Having succeeded that in 1985, we (MIC) went for another claim of RM11 million and the sum was approved for the construction of 19 more partially-aided schools. When this was completed, there were many other allocations that we have sought from time to time for the schools. Funding was always made available but the amount of money sometimes was not sufficient.
Sometimes we have more money and we built more schools, and when we did not have money we built fewer schools.
Building Tamil schools is an ongoing matter which I have been continuously following but the problem is we didn't do much publicity.
We carried on doing the work because to us the completion of the school and the provision of the required infrastructure and amenities for the children to make them study was the most important thing.
The question again is - why do you and other individuals have to go around collecting money for putting up Tamil school buildings?
That happened in the early 1980s because even if the school building is not enough to accommodate the growing number of students, no one would go forward to demand for more facilities or more money. It's a chicken-and- egg matter.
Providing education to the children without any discrimination is the constitutional responsibility of the Education Ministry. But you have been going around begging for money to put up Tamil schools for the children of the Indian community. Why do you have to do that?
You see, the education minister is not going to go from school to school to check the conditions.
That's why they have an education department, right?
No, many of the 72 Tamil schools that I've built are because of the most effective headmasters. They come and ask for help.
Does not that mean that Tamil schools have been built by the community and not by the Education Ministry?
As I told you earlier, partially-aided schools were something like the duty of parents but we (MIC) have made it to be the duty of the government.
You say you have made changes, i.e. making the government to build the Tamil schools. But it still remains a requirement that you have to get the land. Is this not a fact?
No. We surrender the land to the government to build the school. Let me ask you something. For example in Taman Tun Sambathan, there are 900 families and more than 400 children go to Gandhi High School where they have to walk a far distance and they cross a heavy-traffic road.
So this people want a school near their home and the land is available. So that is where we should build the school.
You can't say we'll wait for the government to look for the land because they will definitely look for one further away. But when we surrender the land and once the government agrees to build a school, the government will buy over the land.
Is not also a fact that the land you provide must be in an area that is most convenient to the students?
Yes. But what if there is no place available nearby and there is no more land available in that area.
The ministry has always argued that partially-aided schools cannot be converted to fully-aided schools because they are on private lands. You are aware that there is a Land Acquisition Act which empowers the state authority to acquire any land for any purpose. Why not the government acquire land for the purpose of building Tamil schools?
When there are 1,500 acres (607 hectares) of estate and the school is sitting on a quarter of the land and when you want to subdivide that piece of land that means that the whole estate has to be subdivided.
What will happen is the estate owners will have to pay new rates for the subdivisions, so definitely the estates won't agree to pay extra. So the government can't take over the land.
Why are they asking you to get the land?
No! Tell me how many schools were built by donation? We surrender the land to the government. Land is the responsibility of the government.
In Klang, a school was built and you said you built it without spending a single cent. So where did the money come from? You also said about a Tamil school that you built in Batang Melaka. You said the school was a structure of half-cement and half-wood. Now, it was rebuilt and it was by a Malay man who, despite being a Malay, had built not one, not two, but three Tamil schools.
The contractor built it.
He was a contractor. So it was not the government, but it was the contractor who paid for it?
We did it without spending the people's money, what's so bad about that…
Nothing bad, but the question is why is the government not taking the responsibility to do it?
Let us all decide now. We don't touch the Tamil schools and let's wait for the government to build them.
Should we not pressure the government to build the Tamil schools? Why do you have to do it?
It is not the question of making me do it. I have a social responsibility to my community and party. It is part of my party's decision that we must help and build the Tamil schools.
As the president of the party, it is my duty to build the schools. I can also write (like you) that this is no good and that is no good but what is gained by saying something is no good?
Leadership quality is something that you cannot find in everybody at the same level. You have a very special character - terrorising others to get things done. Would you say your successor would possess the same quality?
No, but it is a matter of people understanding the necessity and responsibility that something has to be done. I'm not in government now but I keep on working because I feel I have much more responsibility to help the people now.
And we appreciate that. But will you say that your successor will be able to do the same thing?
That I cannot say. Every human being has different capabilities
That is why the public is worried that since there is no government commitment to build Tamil schools the way they are doing it for national schools. We are depending on commitments by individuals.
Originally it was like that but we have told the government that they must pay up and they have started to pay. For example in Selangor, every school is built on government land that has been obtained.
Why should not there be a declared government policy to build Tamil schools in areas where the schools are needed?
They have formulated the policy and it has been discussed. It will be further discussed to decide what the ways of doing it, what the requirements and what will be the best solutions. That's the way things work.
You say things are being worked out. When do you think the government will convert all the Tamil and Chinese Schools to fully-aided schools?
The government has already taken a decision. In a special committee set up by the prime minister and chaired by the deputy prime minister, it has been decided that the schools will be made into fully-aided schools soon. And the proposal was accepted in the cabinet.
When exactly will this be achieved?
From now onwards as the need arises, it will be done
But the need is already there for 372 Tamil schools.
These schools are small schools with less than 50 students per school. It deserves a different attention.
The Education Ministry said these are schools that need to be equipped with better facilities, so they want to know if the schools will commit if the ministry sets up a group school and provide them with buses and hostels.
The government has gone to the extent of offering buses and hostels.
Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan the development allocation for per student per month according to school is:
- National school RM33.30 per student
- Tamil school RM10.55 per student
- Chinese school RM4.50 per student
- English school $188.88 per student
- Malay school $66.84 per student
- Tamil school $55.84 per student
- Chinese school $8.72 per student
The reason the allocations are made as such is because the schools are very small and not fitted with all the facilities like laboratories and so forth.
The moment all these facilities are in the school instantly the government will raise the allocation per student.
How will they obtain all the facilities when there is inadequate allocation?
The allocation is not given - that is just how much the government spends on a child. The government spends more money on a child who attends a school that is fully facilitated.
If the school doesn't have more than two classrooms then the government will spend much less on a student who goes to that school.
But the allocation is not given on the basis of the kind of school a child attends i.e. a fully equipped school or less equipped school. It is designated according to language stream schools.
I won't call this discrimination because there may be many technical reasons to it. If there is discrimination then the Chinese must fight for it.
Every year, the estimation is done with various requirements. If I ask for reasons, the ministry will come up with reasons.
They won't tell me just because we are Indians, they won't give us fair allocations. This is not that type of government. If it was, it won't be this developed today
The education minister has always obligated to do the right thing; he did not go around telling people not to give to Indians.
Is not this the reason Tamil schools are in such a mess?
Tamil schools are not in a mess as it has been said by people who simply say and don't do anything for the school!
We spend millions every year to print books, promote the education and we see the students get happy!
You think it comes just like that! That is the initiatives and the people who don't put the initiative are the people who sit at home and question others! That doesn't happen!
Is this discrimination carried out in pursuit of the 'ultimate objective' - to get rid of all Tamil schools?
I don't think Tamil schools or Indian fellows can be finished off by anybody.
source: malaysiakini
Video Link : - Interview
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