IF THERE'S one question I would like to ask the authorities with regards to mission schools, it is this: Are these schools to be funded only by the PTA?
Recently, I had the privilege of attending functions at fully-aided schools, some of them in remote areas. While I marvel and rejoice over the wonderful facilities children in these schools enjoy, I am deeply saddened by the dilapidated state of the mission school where I send my little ones.
Parents and teachers have always bewailed the state of these schools. Still, I do not see a glimmer of hope in their facilities being upgraded.
Many mission school buildings are in dire need of repair and there appears to be a general breakdown in the chain of command to set things right. How long is this apathy going to last? Surely, there can be some sort of compromise to address this sorry state of affairs.
Would it not be more prudent for the various mission boards to have a more hands-on approach in administering their schools? Grouses by parents appear to be falling on deaf ears. Just who is in charge of these schools when, to all intents and purposes, it is the PTA that is constantly harassed for funds?
Besides being rundown, I have noticed that the quality of teachers sent to mission schools leaves much to be desired. I was told by a senior teacher that many of these teachers have been “dumped” in mission schools after being found “troublesome” in fully aided schools!
I hope the authorities will do something for these once wonderful institutions of learning that now seem to be forsaken.
The various mission boards should have a meaningful dialogue with the Ministry of Education on the direction and future of their schools. It is sad to note that many of the fine traditions that moulded the school mission are now in shambles.
Who is to blame and where can we find redemption, I wonder?
NIROSHA SEN
Ipoh, Perak
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