YOURSAY ‘Gov’t leaders must show faith in it; opposition doesn’t have to.’

PPP leader issues school dare to 'insane' Kit Siang

Behsaikong: There is a world of difference between the government which runs the Education Ministry and the opposition whose job is to watch over the performance of the government in power, and how it utilises public money to develop, among other things, the national school system.

It is this government which claims that the national education system is very good. If so, why do the cabinet ministers send their offspring to private schools?

The opposition never agreed with this lofty exaggerated assessment and has been saying so umpteen times. So why is it a surprise if opposition MPs send their family members to private schools?

The real issue here is why despite the huge budget allocated to the national school system and teacher training, so many families in the country have had to cough up extra money for alternative schooling for their children.

The fault lies with those in charge, not with parents shunning a faulty national school system.

Whatsup: PPP information chief A Chandrakumanan, it's not about children of the rich, it's about rich ministers having little trust in our education system.

TTT: What is Chandrakumanan’s point? If the government says that national schools are among the best in the world and send their kids to private schools, that clearly shows they are hypocrites.

The opposition has long been complaining about the state of our national education system, so sending their kids to private schools supports that.

This is akin to the chairman of Proton saying Protons are the best but drives a Honda, versus the public saying Protons are crap and drive Hondas instead.

The public however also consist of people that say Protons are bad, but have to drive them because they can't afford Hondas.

Odysseus: DAP leader Lim Kit Siang is challenging current government leaders to prove their faith in the very system they established.

I think this is a fair thing to do to ensure the people of Malaysia get a decent education which will make them better citizens and able to compete with the rest of the world.

It is clear that the private school business is thriving because of the lack of confidence in the national schools. Many of these private schools are teaching the national syllabus and this tells that there is lack of faith in the teachers and the governance involving national schools.

So, instead of challenging Lim to provide data of opposition leaders sending their kids to private schools, Chandrakumanan should be asking his political bosses why the education system is declining.

Perhaps, he is just another politician trying to attract attention from his boss.

Haveagreatday: Chandrakumanan, before you throw that challenge to Lim, you ought to know if you have the ability to ensure your political masters will reveal where they send their children for their schooling.

“Insane and pathetic” - it seems those adjectives better describe your response. Yes, it is indeed a private matter but when your political masters proclaim to the rakyat that our education system is world class, it is a valid concern of the rakyat whether they themselves have faith in our education system.

Disgusted: Our universities have long dropped out of the ranking of the 200 best universities in the world.

They are churning out low quality, unemployable graduates who do not know how to speak proper English to join the bloated civil service or the ranks of the unemployed.

The result of our two-tiered education policy is to contribute to the brain drain of young non-Malays incensed by the racial inequality in education opportunities. They head for the exit as soon as they have acquired their tertiary education.

Parents have also been known to migrate in order to obtain affordable tertiary education for their children.

We have to thoroughly revamp our education system to restore confidence in it and bring back the rakyat's confidence in local schools and universities as well as to reverse the exodus of the intelligent and capable. It can only be achieved with a total change of government in Putrajaya.

Pputeh: "No one wants to know where anyone sends their children for education as this is a private matter. Why is he (Kit Siang) so concerned where ministers send their children for education," said Chandrakumanan.

We voted for these MPs so they, especially the ministers, set an example by leadership. If they have no confidence in the system they preach so much about, then they have no business being leaders.

The Analyser: The difference here, Mr PPP Information Chief, is that the people from Pakatan Rakyat are not in a position to dictate education policy, so where they send their children for schooling is (hopefully) in the best interests of the child and not determined by political decisions.

However if Pakatan was in a position to make decisions on education, you might well be worried. As I would be.

Tpn: Chandra, why didn’t you ask former PM Mahathir Mohamad this question as he was the one who questioned the ministers?

Dr M, didn’t you mess up the education system?

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