ALOR STAR: The Kedah government insists it did not breach any guidelines in organising a programme involving school principals and Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) presidents.
State Education, Religious, Communications, and Information Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Azam Abd Samat claimed the state had complied with guidelines set by the Education Ministry.
"There should be no issue as we followed the guidelines. State exco members (executive councillors) attended at the invitation of District Officers, who are civil servants," he said when contacted today.
Azam claimed that Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Wong had not addressed the questions raised in a previous statement criticising ministers and deputy ministers for allegedly engaging in partisan politics within the government administration.
"I urge him to re-read the statement. He did not respond to my question properly—perhaps he did not understand that the programme was organised outside school premises.
"Still, I understand he just wants to keep us (opposition members) from attending school programmes," he added.
On Friday, Wong urged the Kedah government to review public school engagement guidelines, stressing all parties must comply.
He was responding to Azam's claim that the Education Department had instructed school principals and PTA presidents not to attend a state-organised programme to address school dropout rates.
Azam had questioned the instruction's rationale, as the programme was held outside public schools.