MIC will support the implementation of the Vision School or 'Sekolah Wawasan' concept and urged the government to speed up the project, its president S Samy Vellu said today.

samy vellu pc 120308 prejudice He said the party was puzzled over the delay in the project's implementation although MIC was in favour of it since it was mooted by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad almost a decade ago.

"It has been 10 years since the project was started, but up till now, only five or six Vision Schools have been built," he told reporters after opening a forum to discuss the use of English in the teaching of Maths and Science in Tamil schools in Kuala Lumpur.

The one-day forum was attended by Tamil school headmasters and Education Ministry officials.

The Vision School involved the integration of national-type, Tamil and Chinese schools under one roof or compound, although each school would maintain their identity and name.

Mahathir mooted the idea to allow for children from all races to interact and foster unity while maintaining the respective school's status.

'Good and beneficial' project

Samy Vellu said although some quarters were against the Vision School, MIC felt it was "a good and beneficial project" as Tamil schools would be equipped with new buildings and equipments since the project was funded totally by the government.

bukit jalil estate tamil school protest 231107 children Presently, 329 of the 523 Tamil schools in the country are partially-aided and required funding from the government on an annual basis.

He also said the project would ensure the survival of Tamil schools which currently has a total enrollment of almost 110,000 students.

The government had recently allocated RM50 million under the stimulus package to rebuild Tamil schools for 2009.

Samy Vellu also said a special forum with Parents Teachers Association (PTA) will be held on Dec 14, 2008 from 1pm to 6pm in Kuala Lumpur to get the parents' feedback on the teaching of Maths and Science in English in Tamil schools.

He said they would be asked to state their views on whether to continue with the use English or revert to Tamil in the teaching of the two subjects.

"Only after that, we will submit to the government our decision as the parents are the most important stakeholders in this matter," he said.

PTAs are advised to contact MIC education committee chairperson Dr T Marimuthu at 016-2019466 or K.Manikam from the Social Strategic Foundation at 03-40415958.