KUALA LUMPUR – Education groups have expressed concern over Budget 2025, unveiled on Friday, which they claim has neglected several crucial aspects of the national education system, including Form Six colleges, the Dual Language Programme (DLP), and teacher training improvements.
Education activist Mak Chee Kin from the Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (MAGPIE) highlighted the lack of funding for Form Six colleges, despite their pressing need for infrastructure upgrades.
He told Scoop that while many pre-university programmes in secondary schools have been upgraded to standalone colleges, the facilities and infrastructure of these institutions remain in poor condition.
He emphasised that Form Six students, who only enrol in this programme for a year and a half as their final step before university, deserve equal opportunities as those in matriculation colleges.
“It is their right to enjoy the same playing field as those in the matriculation colleges,” he said.
“These Form Six pre-university colleges have been overlooked in this budget, despite the Ministry of Education’s intention to make Form Six the first choice for SPM leavers,” he added.
Mak, along with Datin Noor Azimah Rahim from the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE), also raised concerns regarding the lack of funding for the teaching of the English language and the DLP.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had earlier declared that STEM, the English language, and the DLP needed to be reinforced.
However, it does not appear that a significant enough budget has been allocated, if at all,” lamented Azimah.
She further questioned the absence of funding for teacher training, which she argued is essential following findings from the World Bank’s report titled “Bending Bamboo Shoots: Strengthening Foundation Skills.”
Azimah pointed out that the report revealed alarming deficiencies among teachers, with 42% of students failing to achieve proficiency in reading by the end of Standard Five, indicating a pressing need for substantial investment in teacher training.
In addition, Mak suggested that funds for repairing and upgrading schools be managed by the schools’ parents-teachers associations (PTAs) and boards of governors to ensure value for money and reduce bureaucratic red tape. He proposed that these works could be monitored by the Public Works Department (JKR) and the State Education Department (JPN).
On the topic of education subsidy removals for T15 individuals, Mak argued that this move is unjust, asserting that these individuals should benefit from public education as taxpayers and because their children gained admission on merit. “Maybe I would suggest that the subsidy removal be done on a voluntary basis, where the government encourages T15 individuals to opt out by offering tax rebates on education if they choose to pay more in fees,” he added.
The Education Ministry received an allocation of RM64.1 billion under Budget 2025, the highest amount to date.
Mixed reactions to the budget
Meanwhile, academic Anuar Ahmad from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) praised the budget for focusing on enhancing school facilities and infrastructure, providing direct aid to schoolchildren, and strengthening technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
He expressed hope that the budget would address several pressing issues plaguing the national education system, including dilapidated schools, poor facility maintenance, the digital divide, and school dropouts.
“What is no less important after this budget is to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of our educational system. If there are no improvements in delivery, then it would be hard to see improvements in the quality of our education system soon,” he said in a statement. — October 20, 2024