AMENDMENTS TO EDUCATION ACT FOCUS ON ADVOCACY, LEGAL ACTION AS LAST RESORT - FADHLINA

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Bernama) -- The proposed amendments to the Education Act 1996 (Act 550), which will make education compulsory up to secondary school level, will focus on advocacy and awareness to ensure student attendance, said Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.

Therefore, she said that legal action against parents who fail to send or neglect sending their children to school would only be considered as a last resort.

Fadhlina said through the bill, which will be tabled during the Second Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 15th Parliament, the government would first ensure that all necessary educational facilities, access, and assistance are provided, while strengthening advocacy and shared responsibility between the government, communities, and parents.

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"From our experience in implementing compulsory primary education, we have prioritised advocacy, awareness, and responsibility within the community, alongside the government’s duty to provide educational facilities, improve access to education, and ensure aid reaches students.

"Only after all these efforts have been undertaken would legal action be considered as a last resort if there is still parental negligence in ensuring children receive an education," she said at a briefing on the bill at Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih here today.

Also present was Education Ministry director-general Datuk Azman Adnan.

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According to Fadhlina, initiatives such as the Ziarah Cakna programme, which involves schools and local communities, have helped identify students who have dropped out of the education system.

"The student attendance data recorded in our system enables the Ziarah Cakna team to go to the ground and determine the reasons for absenteeism, including parental awareness, which still needs improvement," she said.

On economic challenges as a factor for student absenteeism, she stressed that education in Malaysia is free, and various assistance schemes are available to prevent students from low-income families from dropping out.

Meanwhile, Azman said that in addition to amending two existing provisions in the bill—Section 2 (Clause 2) and Section 29A (Clause 3), which expand the scope of compulsory education to cover both 'primary education' and 'secondary education'—a new provision, Section 32A (Clause 4), has also been introduced to designate secondary education as compulsory.

He said the bill aligns with the Ministry of Education's efforts to address student dropouts and support B40 groups under the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025.

-- BERNAMA