DEPUTY Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin shared good news for parents and teachers with his announcement of the setting up of the National Parent-Teacher Association Fund yesterday.
Muhyiddin, who is also education minister and Umno deputy president, told delegates in Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Centre, here of the news after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak gave the green light.
“The fund will have a kick-start capital of at least RM200 million, which will be partially contributed by the government, government-linked companies and the private sector.
“The fund will be made available to all schools, especially those in the interior and rural areas,” he said in his winding-up speech at the 65th Umno General Assembly.
Muhyiddin also said the ministry would hire at least 30,000 teachers to teach third languages, including Mandarin, Tamil, Arabic, French and Spanish, which were available in schools.
However, he said, the number of students taking up the subjects were relatively low.
“I agree with the call by (Wanita chief Datuk Seri) Shahrizat (Abdul Jalil) for a third language to be acquired, and as an elective subject.”
He added that the party wanted to see more Malay children mastering a third language.
Muhyiddin also called for all relevant quarters to support the initiative, and hoped that posts would be created for the purpose.
“We have 10,000 schools in Malaysia, and if each school has three teachers, the number of teachers needed will be large.”
Touching on the issue of mastering Bahasa Melayu in schools, Muhyiddin said he had instructed the ministry to review the curriculum aspects of teachers, timetable, content and examination format to boost the quality of the language among students, especially those in vernacular schools.
On the ministry’s efforts to improve the vocational and technical education sector, he said the 2015 Budget reflected the ministry’s commitment to enhancing the skills of the country’s young workers.
“If we can do this, our children’s future will be brighter, as they will be equipped with better skills and can earn a higher income, with better job opportunities.”
Muhyiddin said the government had allocated RM100 million to buy places in private schools to cater to at least 10,000 students, especially Malay and Bumiputera children.
He said education was the most highlighted issue during the assembly, involving 121 motions, or 20 per cent, of the total of 638 motions.
He thanked the delegates for prioritising education.
“I also thank the prime minister for always making education one of the country’s main agendas.”