Thursday, March 31, 2016

Money and Education

Star Q

There used to be a time not so long ago, when the young people of this country were able to pursue their education wherever they wanted to study without giving a second thought about financing their education.  Besides, they didn't even have to worry about their expenses because all would be paid for.

Those were better days when the country's coffers were well-managed by people who really knew what they were doing and people whose soul purpose of being employed in the specific occupations is to ensure that the younger generation of this country receives and acquires as much knowledge to help this country to grow and prosper.

However, of late, it is sad to note that the allocations for education is getting smaller and smaller every year, due to budget cuts.  One simple but yet sadly noticeable example is the RM100 book voucher  for secondary school students.  I recall when I was in service as a teacher, every Tom, Dick and Harry were not exempted from being given this voucher.  Whether the student came from a moderate income-earning family or from a well-to-do family, they all received this voucher.  Whether you were the children of clerks or children of teachers teaching in that particular school, you still got them.

But this is no more the case.  Young helpless and confused children come home from school and ask their parents, why is it that some students get these vouches while others don't.  Their contention is that all students are the same in the sense that they are all studying and they all need to buy the same school necessities.  And wiser children chide at the double standard.

By segregating children, even in this subtle way, they will grow up to be adults who are not united because they have been taught by the government even when they were at a tender age, to become a community that is divided.  The government can have all kinds of programmes to foster racial unity in schools (like the REMUP programme), but all of them will not achieve the desired target (for which they will blame the teachers; their scapegoats!)  Worse of all these programmes will all fail.

Children are very sensitive young people.  They quickly differentiate themselves from their schoolmates who are privileged (where monetary aid is concerned) and they themselves who are not.  We shudder to think what these dissatisfied young children will grow up to become.  When they do, it will be too late for the government to do anything.  Or perhaps these people couldn't care less to what happens to the young people of this country because even now, they may already be thinking of passing the buck to other people.  Typical.

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