Falling further behind

EDUCATION is a basic human right but access to knowledge has been fraught with challenges for Malaysia’s indigenous community.

Quality learning, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been pushed further out of reach of Orang Asli children, a recent paper by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) revealed.

The learning gap between Orang Asli and urban students is made worse by bad road conditions; distance from their homes to schools; racial discrimination and bullying, especially when they transition from all Orang Asli primary schools to mixed secondary schools; and financial constraints.

This was highlighted in the “Contextualising Education Policy to Empower Orang Asli Children” paper published in December last year.

To address the issues and to enhance Orang Asli education, the paper’s authors held interviews and focus group discussions with respondents from the community.

The findings revealed that some 35.9% of the parents have a Year Six level of education, and only 17.9% have a Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) or diploma (see infographic).

“The pandemic has aggravated the vulnerabilities and educational disadvantages Orang Asli students face.

“There are implementation gaps that need to be addressed urgently.

“The loss of education due to the pandemic is a serious problem that needs immediate rectification,” Wan Ya Shin, who is one of the authors of the paper, told StarEdu.

The paper, which also looked into the implementation and delivery of programmes, and assistance provided by the government, also dove into issues such as criticisms of the Orang Asli identity and culture – particularly on their children’s lack of educational achievements and dropout rate.

Greater representation of the Orang Asli culture in Malaysian society, and the community’s right to determine their choices, can bridge the educational inequalities they face, Wan, who was the Ideas acting research director then, said.

To address the lack of education access among the community, the Education Ministry has identified six key areas in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 under the Orang Asli and Indigenous Students Education Transformation initiative.

Some of these initiatives, the ministry said, have been implemented but there is more to be done.