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PETALING JAYA: Former Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, today urged Putrajaya to reject a proposal from a deputy minister to establish “elite” kindergartens.
He said the proposal by Deputy Minister of Rural Development Abdul Rahman Mohamad would widen the inequality gap between the B40 and the T20, causing cracks in the unity of society.
He said Putrajaya should instead move towards the democratization of early childhood education to ensure equal and quality education for all.
“The World Health Organization is of the view that governments and civil society should work with families to provide all children with equitable access to good quality and constructive environments,” said Wan Azizah, who is also a former Deputy Prime Minister, in a statement today.
“The elite preschools proposed by the Department of Community Development (Kemas) go against these aspirations in early childhood education.”
He said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government had planned to democratize early childhood education by placing such institutions under a special task force.
The Dewan Rakyat, he said, had been informed in November 2018 that the then Cabinet had approved the formation of the working group, whose function was to regulate the establishment and operation of early childhood education institutions in the country.
On Tuesday, Rahman was reported to have said the ministry planned to establish elite preschools under Kemas for the children of the M40, which will pay higher fees.
He said a working document on the initiative was being drafted, which will see improvements in facilities and learning modules.
Earlier today, PPBM Youth also warned the government against creating such preschools, saying it could widen the inequality gap between the B40 and M40 groups.
