COMMENT | If we don’t solve the worrisome problems in our primary education system we may not achieve high-income status and all the attendant downsides that come with it, such as a low quality of life and inequality.

I am not saying that, the World Bank in its latest Malaysia Economic Monitor released last week said it, although not in the same words.

Comparing us with less economically developed countries such as Vietnam, the World Bank said we turned out badly in a number of key areas. There are serious problems with reading comprehension and absenteeism among teachers.

Those who have studied or taught in our educational system know that with automatic promotion, whole classes of students, even in urban areas, come up to Form 3 level without knowing how to read or write.