Education: Minimal education
New Straits Times (Columns)
25 Sep 2006

IN education, as in other areas, the Orang Asli lag far behind the other communities in this country. With few exceptions, the country has failed to provide the minimum education for a great majority of the Orang Asli.

Their drop-out rate is high, their academic achievement poor, and there is a low sense of self. Few make it to the Form Five classroom, much less the lecture theatres on campus. This is an unacceptable state of affairs.

A good education is essential if the Orang Asli are to improve their lot. They deserve better access and better opportunities to a good education, from kindergarten right through to university.

Many Orang Asli children have been forced to quit school because of the need to work to supplement the family income or the lack of money to buy uniforms or pay for the schoolbus. Without some form of financial assistance, many would be hard-pressed to send their children to school, and to allow them to complete their schooling.

The reported increase in financial aid is therefore a welcome move because it should help to persuade more poverty-stricken families to keep their children in school.

Since the playing field is not level for the Orang Asli, the affirmative policy of reserving places for them in the tertiary institutions also seems appropriate.

The plan to develop a schooling concept that suits the culture and lifestyle of the Orang Asli is also a step in the right direction. It is axiomatic that the content of the curriculum and the methods of instruction should take into account the setting in which learning takes place as well as the students and their backgrounds.

There is a need to take full cognisance of cultural sensitivities and local sensibilities. Teachers should indeed be trained to utilise those styles of learning which can optimise the potential of the Orang Asli students.

This requires a different approach from that which has traditionally prevailed in the schooling of the Orang Asli. If we’re going to deal effectively with the problems of drop-outs and educational underachievement, we need more innovative solutions.

But the challenges of providing schools to impoverished and remote Orang Asli communities are complex. The considerable educational disadvantages experienced by Orang Asli students cannot be attributed to poverty, attitude, or any one factor.

There is no easy answer to the ills besetting Orang Asli education. Although there are no easy solutions, it is time to move on. There is much to be done.