The National Union of the Teaching Profession said today that it is against any move to privatise government schools.

NUTP secretary general Lok Yim Pheng said the government’s new policy on public and private sector collaboration in education should be confined to improvement in infrastructure and equipment and should not touch on academic aspects.

She said privatisation of other areas would "push up costs and would make schooling very expensive and beyond the reach of the poor."

muhyiddin yassin pc 170310 She was commenting on the statement by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin ( right ) last week that the government was considering privatising certain schools or allowing private parties to take charge of repairs and maintenance.

Lok said that private sector assistance in education could include funding of scholarships and financial aid to poor students.

"However, the administration of schools, the syllabus and teaching should be solely supervised by the Education Ministry without any interference from the private sector," Lok said.

There are 9,943 schools nationwide, with 5.4 million students.

- Bernama