Calls for an education ombudsman

DONG Zong (United Chinese School Committees Association), Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers Association) and five Chinese organisations want the government to set up an education ombudsman to ensure the Education Ministry is efficient and fair.
This, together with the much-publicised call for the government to recognise Chinese independent schools' Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), will be contained in the groups' memorandum to be submitted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak next month.
Apart from Dong Zong and Jiao Zong, the parties to sign the memorandum are Hua Zong (Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia); Malaysian Seven Major Clan Association; Federation of Alumni Associations of Taiwan Universities, Malaysia; Federation of Chinese School Alumni Associations of Malaysia; and Nanyang University Alumni Association of Malaya.
According to a report in Sin Chew Daily yesterday, the memorandum contains 24 points covering six subjects, including on the Education Act; Chinese primary schools, conforming schools and Chinese independent schools.
Among the salient points are for the ministry to ensure that all Chinese primary school headmasters have a credit in SPM Chinese language; and that all heads of conforming schools have sat for Chinese papers in their SPM and have good proficiency in Mandarin.
The memorandum will also call for government grants for non-profit university colleges, among others.
Speaking to the media in Kajang after a meeting of the seven Chinese groups to finalise the memorandum on Sunday, Dong Zong president Datuk Vincent Lau lamented that the country is still plagued by the single-stream school mentality despite having achieved independence for more than 60 years.
He also hit out at a small group of single-stream-school advocates who claimed the Chinese groups are taking advantage of the upcoming general election in presenting the memorandum to the premier.
Lau stressed that the points contained in the memorandum have been the long-held wishes of the Chinese community, which are also its rights.