Wednesday, October 4, 2023
The Book Publishers "Lobby" Can Seriously "Influence" Our Education Policies
"which leaves RM7.909 billion, the purpose for which is not known !!"
- Changes to Msia’s education system raise fears students not prepared for future
- DLP being reduced or scrapped altogether
- Changes to education system
- more science and mathematics in Malay
- raising the ire of parents and observers.
- will not enhance employability of students in globalisation.
- DLP schools and classes are being eradicated
- DLP idoes not meet the ministry’s requirements
- June 30, 2023, less than 1/4 schools conducted DLP
- 2,428 schools out of a total of 10,233
- 460,000 students in DLP, 9% of total student population
- DLP may be abolished at all public boarding secondary schools
- save for two top schools, MCKK and Tunku Kurshiah College.
- Malaysia’s education policy has long been seen as a tool to advance political influence, with issues such as the medium of instruction and vernacular schools often becoming political hot potatoes.
- plans to teach the 40 hadiths
- further Islamising government schools.
- ISEAS : removing DLP not much impact on attracting Malay votes
My Comments:
Folks, this news above by the Straits Times Singapore has completely missed the mark. Education policy is not determined by any of those things mentioned here (actually nothing was mentioned about who, what or how education policy is determined).
Education policy is strongly influenced (shall we say) by the book publishing "lobby".
In Malaysia school textbooks are free. You and I pay for it. It is all taxpayer funded. So every year the gomen dishes out school textbook publishing and printing contracts. These contracts are worth hundreds of millions of Ringgit. Big money. Big money attracts big flies.
Most recently the political secretary of the former Minister of Education was arrested for corruption involving the book contract for just ONE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOK. It was a religious book in the Malay language. The contract involved was worth RM80 MILLION !! For just one primary school text book !!
That alone will give you an idea just how much money and influence buying is involved.
The latest education budget is RM53 BILLION !!
Higher education got another RM15 BILLION.
That is a total of RM68 BILLION.
I got this from The Edge :
- Ministry of Education RM52.6b
- Ministry of Higher Education RM14.5b
- teachers’ emoluments 80% or RM42 billion
- 20% balance remaining = RM10.6 billion,
- RM450 million for Early School Aid
- RM1 billion for school maintenance and renovations
- RM746 million to upgrade dilapidated schools
- RM50 million for special needs schools to purchase equipment
- RM400 million to provide free milk daily
- These allocations amount to RM2.691 billion
- which leaves RM7.909 billion, the purpose for which is not known.
Maybe that last line which leaves RM7.909 billion, the purpose for which is not known is meant to be a joke.
Did that RM80 million religious textbook contract (involving that bribe) come from the purpose for which is not known type of funds as well?
Actually this has been going on for a long time, especially after Dr Mahathir retired in 2003.
The Malay language book publishers were and are closely connected to the UM-O boys. Maybe one and the same. And the Education budget has always gotten the single largest chunk of our annual Budget allocations.
Hundreds of millions of Ringgits are dished out to the school textbook publishers. And the local boys are more suited to publish Malay language books. Especially religious books in the Malay language.
So the more school textbooks are printed in Malay the more money goes to the book publishing "lobby". It is more than a lobby. It is a mafia.
And they do not like the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English. They dont speak English.
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