Several parents who had alerted the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) on racial streaming in their children's schools said they were disappointed with the union's decision to apologise for raising the issue.

However, they expressed hope that the recommendations of the independent committee, established to probe the matter, will be implemented.

A parent, whose child was a student at SK Kajang until last year, said the decision by the NUTP to apologise was not surprising since it was called for by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"[NUTP secretary-general N Siva Subramaniam] should not go against this committee which is supposed to be independent," parent Tay Thian Hock told malaysiakini today.

SK Kajang was one of the 210 schools named in the NUTP memorandum which was submitted to the Education Ministry as evidence that racial streaming may be taking place in national schools.

Last Friday, Siva and the 100,000-strong teachers' union apologised for the "distress" caused by the allegations of racial segregation and said it would stop pursuing the matter.

'Apology not the solution'

"I am very disappointed as this (the apology) is not the solution to the problem which is also taking place in some secondary schools," said Tay, adding that he is now considering sending his younger child to a vernacular school to avoid a repeat of the problem.

Another parent whose child was also attending the primary school said although an apology was made, it is not clear if the NUTP intended to retract its claims.

"Siva apologised to the prime minister and not to the schools," said parent Irene Loh, who had earlier complained of racial streaming in SK Kajang to the school's principal and the Education Ministry.

Loh, who had enrolled her younger child at a vernacular school because of the unequal treatment received by her child while at SK Kajang, said the recommendations in the independent committee's report clearly indicate that there are matters to be addressed.

"The public has been made aware of the problem but we will have to see if there will be any change in policy next year," she added.

MIC silent

Meanwhile, another parent who requested anonymity dismissed the events following the independent committee's disclosures and the subsequent actions against the NUTP as a "cover-up".

"The apology has closed the whole matter very well. The whole thing has been hushed up although the problem is rampant and has spread to many schools," he added.

The parent also expressed disappointment with the MIC for keeping quiet about the committee's findings despite raising the grievances of several parents last December.

"The MIC did not back up Siva while the NUTP has been curbed from pursuing the matter. Nothing will be done unless the recommendations are put into force by the Education Ministry and implemented in the right manner," he said.

'Changing winds'

However, another parent who also requested anonymity said there are signs that "winds are changing" with regard to the racial streaming problem faced by his child in another Selangor school.

"They are now aware of the problem and they have called up parents for feedback," said the parent who had filed a complaint with the NUTP because his child who is attending a Selangor primary school, was sent to the third-best class although ranked first in the standard.

He added that the schools' authorities had assured parents that their grievances will be taken in to account when scheduling timetables for the following school year.

The allegations of racial streaming in schools surfaced when two parents of a Port Klang school complained that their children who qualified among the top five in their standards, were relegated to second-best class.

Siva, who said that this was a problem in at least 10 percent of national schools, submitted a list of 210 schools to the Education Ministry last December.

Last month, the Independent Committee on Segregation in Schools set up to investigate the allegations concluded that the problem was minimal and not deliberate, attributing its occurrence to poor timetable arrangements.