The findings of the independent committee on student segregation have further proven that the concept of vision school will help foster national unity at a younger age, Perlis Umno information chief Abu Bakar Ismail said today.

According to the committees summary report, there is a wide gap between the percentage of Malay and non-Malay students in national schools, and this could only be corrected through the implementation of the vision school, he told malaysiakini .

The setting up of vision schools would be the best way to create a conducive environment for students to mix around and share the spirit of national unity, he added.

The report has highlighted that out of the 2.2 million students in national schools, only 2.1 percent or 46,470 are Chinese Malaysians, 4.3 percent or 95,180 are Indian Malaysians, and 2.78 percent or 59,423 are other Malaysians.

This was part of the findings of the committee which was set up to investigate claims by the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) that there is racial segregation in national schools. The NUTPs secretary-general, Siva Subramaniam, has since apologised for causing misunderstanding among all parties.

Three-in-one

Under the vision school concept, a school complex will accommodate three schools — a national school, a Chinese school, and a Tamil school — which will share some facilities.

As Malaysians, we should be prepared to fight for it. The non-Malay organisations should not oppose the vision school concept before studying the real reasons behind it — which is to instill the importance of national unity in the minds of young Malaysians, Abu Bakar added.

Mother tongue education activists oppose the vision school concept as they see it in the context of various education acts drafted over the years since Independence towards a long-term policy of having a single medium of instruction in all schools, which is against their constitutional rights.

Abu Bakar also proposed the formation of a National Unity and Educational Council, which is to be represented by all parties concerned, including both the government and opposition political parties, as well as educationists.

The main function of this council is to discuss issues related to education and find amicable remedies collectively. This would help prevent any education issue from being blown out of proportion and cause unnecessary problems, as in the case of the recent student segregation issue, he said.