The Sun Daily 7 April 2010
SPEAK UP! :: Letters
Give parents a bigger say
BY NOW, most annual general meetings (AGMs) of parent-teacher associations (PTAs) would have been conducted. For the schools where its teachers enjoy a good relationship with the parents, all well and good. For the schools that do not, it is time for some reflection if the school is to move forward.
Like all associations, members pay subscription. In the case of PTAs, for some strange reason, teachers are exempted from this subscription. In some schools, some teachers refuse to pay even though their children are in the school and yet both directly benefit from PTA funds.
Even more strangely, these teachers get to not only nominate parent committee members at the AGM but they also get away with the voting of these parents. As a result, teachers normally vote in parents who are docile and passive, a detrimental move, as parents who are an asset to schools, often encouraged by the Education Ministry, are not used.
As a result, if a parent is desperate to head the PTA then all he has to do is lobby the teachers. He does not even need to lobby the parents, a more daunting task. For this reason, parents shun AGMs as they feel it is a lost cause.
On the other hand, parents pay subscription yet they do not get to vote the teachers whom they want to sit on the committee. Normally, the principal pre-determines the names of the teachers sitting on the PTA committee. This list should be proposed and seconded at the AGM as provided for the PTA regulations but is normally not adhered to.
For a more equitable balance, if teachers do not want to be subjected to paying subscription, then they should abstain from voting. And parents must make it a point to attend and exercise their rights, if not for themselves, for their children. If enough parents attend, then just maybe, the role of the PTA will be made more effective.
Interestingly, while AGMs provide the platform for parent-teacher discussions on educational issues, this time, parents were prohibited from speaking about the controversial policy of the teaching and learning of science and maths in English. Not having any freedom of expression to do so renders the very existence of PTAs in schools futile.
The spirit of the Education Act 1996 provides for children to be educated according to the wishes of their parents. If parents cannot even speak, what is the point? The government has admitted that it does not know best, so who does, if not parents themselves.
Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim
Chairperson
Parent Action Group for Education
FOR OUR CHILDREN
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
The best battle action plan is to get a collection of funds as a war chest, collect a list of parents who are willing to file a test case in court to challange the Government's policy of not providing for parents who want to have their children taught Maths & Science in English, without questioning the Govt's policy of teaching M & Sc in BM, Chinese & Tamil and appealing to some good-hearted lawyers to offer their minds and research facilities to present our views for a judicial review that are enforceable as per the Education Act and in the name of natural justice.
Until and unless this issue is given due prominence in the test case and are taken up by the national media, we can cry all we want and no positive result will come our way. I am at a loss to understand why when even Tun MM, at his age, can see the way forward for our future generations the present leadership wants us to be under the proverbial tempurung. Is it Anglophobia? I am still a patriotic Malaysian, not withstanding the 3 languages I use. My son is lucky to be able to converse in 4 as he has friends from all races since he was 3 years old. Most new research articles are in English on the Internet. As the then former Lord President Raja Azlan Shah noted that out of 600 new books, only one was translated into BM, way back in the 1990's if my memory serves me right. The pool of knowledge in English is wide, especially where Maths & Science is concerned. In the online DBP, there are no articles on 1930's Fibonacci theory (basic knowledge to trade on the sharemarkets), neutrinos, avatar, etc.
Please let us do something, anything legal, and along the way some help will come along, before the 628 days are ended. Only need 2subjects to be taught in English to those who vote for it, without stepping on others' rights to mother tongue education. What is wrong with this request? Simple logic & common sense.
Interestingly enough,I attend one of my sons' PTA meeting in March and found that instead of looking into the interest and well-being of the children, the whole situation is a power struggle between one party and another.
The situation is so bad that I left before the whole meeting ended. Most of the teachers in that school are good with children with exception to a few that do not know how to relate to them. It is sad to see that the needs of the teachers and the students are not meet and talked about constructively as others kept on harping about other unrelated matters.
After all that has been said about PTAs being a platform for parent-teacher discussion on educational issues,at the latest PIBG meet at my son's school where the Guru Besar is also the Advisor for the PIBG,in her opening speech mentioned not to bring up anything on PPSMI because the Kementerian has alredy decided. What do you think of that?
I spoke at the ASLI educational summit last week and questioned the legality of the national pta and its voice in representing schools at the ppsmi roundtables.
National pta misrepresented ptas as ptas were not consulted nor surveyed.
There is a national grouping for PTA's established much earlier than PAGE. Under the circumstances, there is no way that PAGE can claim the same role. Maybe PAGE should work in concert with this group. Otherwise, who is going to recognise PAGE's role? PAGE will be treated and end up as another page in history?
penang nkia
Post a Comment