INTERNATIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS
KUCHING: Association of the Boards of Management of Aided Chinese Primary Schools in Kuching, Samarahan and Serian Divisions president Jonathan Chai has dismissed an academician’s claim that the setting up of international secondary schools in the state would contradict the provisions of the Education Act 1996 should it not adopt the national curriculum.
“I don’t get it. What is all the fuss and buzz about? I could not really see how the international schools, funded by the state government, would go against the Education Act 1996 if they do not adopt the national curriculum.
“Because being international schools, they will be governed by those provisions applicable specifically to the international schools under the Education Act 1996,” he said when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune today.
He was referring to a statement by a professor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), which claimed that the international school is operated by “a statutory body under the government” and that adopting an international curriculum would go against Section 18 of the Education Act, which makes it mandatory for government schools to use the national curriculum.
“You don’t arbitrarily blend the federal government and state government as a single entity of the ‘state’ while we know very well that education comes under the purview of the federal government at least for the time being.
“Therefore, international schools set up by Sanjung Services Sdn Bhd (the claimed statutory body under the government) could not be regarded as government schools,” he added.
Referring to Paragraph 15 of the 18-Point Agreement for Sarawak, which states the existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained after 1963, Chai said for this reason, there would be no issue if the state government were to propose English-medium schools that use a national curriculum.
“But would this be realistic under the subsisting circumstances? Could the state government, being the ‘state’ as so claimed, be allowed to come up with English-medium schools that use a national curriculum?” he questioned.
Chai also noted that the setting up of international schools could be seen as a “compromised” solution or pragmatic approach on the part of the state government pending actual devolution of autonomy in education by the federal government.
