KULAI MP Teo Nie Ching has expressed her disappointment at the Education Ministry (MOE) over its earlier response in Parliament that the Zero Reject Policy would not be applied to stateless children.
She was referring to Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin who previously said that the Zero Reject Policy did not refer to the admission of children without documents to schools, but was regarding school placements for children with special needs in the Government and government-aided schools without denying them their rights to education in schools under the ministry.
“It is very disappointing that the Ministry of Education, after the Sheraton coup, did not regard schooling as a basic human right for all children, and could not maintain the policy to simplify the procedures for the admission of stateless children,” she commented.
Teo went on to clarify that under the PH administration, the Zero Reject Policy strategy was one that officials at all levels – from the MOE and state education departments to the district education offices – were told to implement seriously.
“Under this strategy, the officials have been ordered to simplify the admissions process for stateless children and children with special needs to ensure that school-aged children are not left out of school. Our goal (is to make sure) that no one is left behind in education,” she said.
“Apart from streamlining the admission procedures, the MOE should also review the policy of barring stateless children from loaning textbooks and getting free breakfasts under the Supplementary Food Plan (RMT), especially children whose parents are Malaysian citizens.”
Teo, who is the former deputy education minister under the PH administration, said that she had specifically raised this issue in Parliament during the last sitting but MOE’s response “made it clear that he has no intention of changing the current policies”.
According to Teo, many stateless children come from low-income families, and discriminatory treatments will adversely affect a child’s self-esteem and growth.
“Don’t punish innocent children because of their parents’ mistakes or carelessness. Schools should not grow into hotbeds for discriminatory attitudes to breed, and it is MOE’s duty to create an equitable and non-discriminatory schooling environment.” – March 30, 2022
