SEREMBAN: A group representing 20 Tamil organisations in Negri Sembilan is appealing to the Prime Minister to appoint a deputy education minister from the community to look into the problems faced by Tamil schools.
NS Tamil Association president S. Edward Ganasegaran said there was a pressing need to have a minister from the community as many of the 530 Tamil schools in the country were facing problems.
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"Most of these schools are in rural areas or estates and face numerous problems.
"We hope the Prime Minister can appoint a deputy education minister from the community whose main tasks will include looking into the problems faced by these schools," he said.
Citing an example, he said at least 15 schools in Negri Sembilan alone were facing closure due to low enrolment.
He said there were also cases where schools were plagued by termites.
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"We have one new school block which was completed several years ago but has yet to be opened.
"The school is still using the old block which has some structural problems," he said.
Some schools, he said, faced a teacher shortage while others lacked facilities such as a proper library or sports equipment.
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Ganasegaran said if these problems were left unattended, it would demotivate students.
He said not having a deputy minister from the community to look into the affairs of Tamil schools was also one of the main concerns of Indians here.
"You can read about the problems faced by these schools almost daily in the newspapers, especially the vernacular ones.
"In fact, some groups have used this for political mileage and to a certain extent, this has affected the students," he added.
