Published by The Sun Daily on 3 September 2012.
A Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) study has found that 7,000 Orang Asli children between six to 12 years old throughout Peninsular Malaysia have never attended school. Suhakam Education and Public Relations officer, Hasmah Abd Manaf, said the Commission visited 93 Orang Asli schools as part of the 2010/2011 study.
"Transport and access problems are preventing these children from going to school, as they live deep in the jungles," she said during a press conference on the Convention on the Rights of the Child here today.
Among the other problems faced by the Orang Asli children, was that they were not being taught their mother tongue in school as per Article 30 of the Convention, which states children from minority and indigenous communities had the right to practice their own culture, language and religion, she said.
Suhakam had also visited 21 religious schools in Pahang and Selangor and seven Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil in Perlis and Kedah, this year, she added. Hasmah said these schools lacked facilities, had no access to information technology and most of the religious schools were not registered.
"As they're not registered, they depend on non-governmental organisations and individuals and their teachers are also not trained," she said. Meanwhile, Suhakam Commissioner, Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said there were also pupils with no identity documents, which prevented them from sitting for public examinations. – Bernama
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“It is not a case of lacking resources, they (the Education Ministry) just do not care,” said Hasmah.
Issues raised include lacking infrastructure, absence of basic amenities, government bureaucracy, missing curriculum and even untrained teachers in special education schools.
“The recent figures we have shows that more than 2,000 Orang Asli children between the ages of six and seven [who] have not registered for any schooling,” Hasmah said, referring to a figure forwarded from the Orang Asli Affairs Department.
She added that this figure “could be higher”, but the Education Ministry has refused to provide proper figures.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Sha’ani highlighted that Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR) schools were sending children to collect donations owing to an disentitlement from aid due to the institutions not being registered with the ministry.
“It is a problem of bureaucracy, because these schools could not adhere to the guidelines set by the ministry, they are straight away [ineligible] for government aid,” he said.
Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (Suhakam) menemui sekurang-kurang 18 isu yang didakwa "tidak selari" dengan Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Kanak-kanak yang ditandatangani kerajaan Malaysia pada 1995, sejak lima tahun kebelakangan ini.
Isu itu dirumuskan selepas suruhanjaya itu membuat tinjauan terhadap kanak-kanak Orang Asli di pedalaman termasuk Sabah dan Sarawak, sekolah agama rakyat (SAR) di Pahang dan Selangor serta sekolah kebangsaan Tamil di kawasan ladang dan estet di Perlis dan Kedah bermula tahun 2007.
Isu itu dirumuskan selepas suruhanjaya itu membuat tinjauan terhadap kanak-kanak Orang Asli di pedalaman termasuk Sabah dan Sarawak, sekolah agama rakyat (SAR) di Pahang dan Selangor serta sekolah kebangsaan Tamil di kawasan ladang dan estet di Perlis dan Kedah bermula tahun 2007.
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