MyDaftar helping kids who can’t get into school

PETALING JAYA: Unlike most se­ven-year-olds who are enjoying new experiences in their first year of school, Mohan Arasu (not his real name) can only dream of an education and better future.

Mohan was born in a government hospital in Johor. Soon after his birth, his father smuggled him and his mother out of the hospital to avoid paying the bill.

As a result, his birth was not re­gistered.

When his mother tried to enrol him in a government school here, his application was rejected despite his parents being Malaysian citizens.

Mohan is one of many undocumented Malaysian children that the Government’s MyDaftar initiative is trying to help.

MyDaftar, set up five years ago to help undocumented Indians obtain identification papers, has received 40 cases this month of undocumented Malaysian children being turned away from government schools.

“From the total, we managed to get 20 of the children enrolled in school so far,” said MyDaftar coordinator Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam.

A 2009 Education Ministry circular states that Malaysian children who do not have identity documents can enrol in government and government-aided schools, on condition that at least one of the pa­rents is a Malaysian citizen.

He said a number of headmasters were however either unaware or were uncooperative. MyDaftar was now working more closely with state education departments.

Siva thanked education director-general Datuk Seri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof, who told The Star on Jan 5 that the ministry circular was still in force.