NUTP hopes Dr M can remedy politicised Jawi, vernacular schools issues

The National Union of the Teaching Profession is hoping that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's tough disciplinarian attitude can help resolve education issues that have been politicised.

Its president Aminuddin Awang said this includes Jawi and vernacular schools.

"NUTP hopes Mahathir's sternness, which is known and understood by the people, can be translated into solving education issues that have been politicised including Jawi in Chinese and Tamil schools, as well as the vernacular schools issue," he told Malaysiakini.

Cabinet agreed to appoint Mahathir as acting education minister after he asked Maszlee Malik to resign last week.

The reasons for Maszlee's resignation is the subject of much speculation.

In his speech to announce his resignation, Maszlee said: "In the end, I as the education minister was seen to have created many crises for the leadership, such as on Jawi, Internet in schools and the free breakfast, among other issues."

Mahathir has refused to explain the reasons for seeking Maszlee's removal but stressed that not everything the latter did was wrong.

Jawi had become a dividing point, often along racial lines, on whether it was necessary to include the Arabic-based script in the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus for Year 4.

It is optional for vernacular schools, and there are no tests related to it.

Vernacular schools itself are a hot topic, with right-wing Malay groups often calling for their closure.

Meanwhile, Aminuddin said that he is confident Mahathir can bring education in Malaysia to new heights.

However, he hoped that there would be policy shifts, as teachers are "traumatised" with new policies being brought in by each new education minister.

Instead, he hoped that Mahathir would continue with Maszlee's good policies such as reducing non-relevant work for teachers, internet and computer maintenance at schools, and strengthening TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) among others.

Separately, Sisters in Islam founder Zainah Anwar wants the context of Islamic studies in schools and universities to be expanded.

"Islam needs to be taught with good morality and true values such as sincerity, kindness, and generosity.

"But nowadays Islam is being taught with just the ritualistic, customs, and punishment aspects of the religion," she said at a dialogue in Kuala Lumpur today.

In 2018, Mahathir had expressed a desire to see the school syllabus changed to focus less on religion and more on subjects that will make students employable.

Additional reporting by Ramieza Wahid.