Suhakam has urged the government to focus on mitigating the learning loss and preventing dropouts, particularly among vulnerable groups across the country. Bernama File Photo
KUCHING (Jan 24): The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has urged the government to focus on mitigating the learning loss and preventing dropouts particularly among the vulnerable groups across the country amid this Covid-19 pandemic.
Such call was made in conjunction with the International Day of Education, which falls on Jan 24 every year, with this year’s theme as ‘Recover and Revitalise Education for the Covid-19 Generation’.
“Suhakam notes that RM47.2 billion has been allocated to the Ministry of Education (MoE) and RM11.6 billion to the Ministry of Higher Education in Budget 2021 to provide quality education in the country.
“In this regard, Suhakam urges both ministries to expedite the improvement of the educational facilities and provide the necessary assistance to enable online education and a conducive learning environment for all in every corner of Malaysia, leaving no one behind,” it said in a statement today.
Suhakam also called for the implementation of precautionary measures and strict implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOP) to ensure the safety of students, who are involved with examinations and required to attend school in person.
According to Suhakam, human rights education is an integral part of the efforts to eliminate racial polarisation and discrimination in the national education system.
As an effort to promote the inclusion of human rights education in schools, Suhakam, in collaboration with the MoH, had so far implemented the Human Rights Best Practices (Atham) programme in 469 schools throughout the nation.
Besides, Suhakam adopted its 2021-2025 Strategic Plan last year and one of its strategic objectives is to eliminate racism through education.
Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to the implementation of human rights education, Suhakam said it is committed to working with the MoE to expand and improve the implementation of human rights education in the country.
This year’s theme, Suhakam said, is apt as it portrays one of the main challenges faced by many around the world including Malaysia, which is access to education.
“Equal access to education is the most basic human right provided under Article 12 of the Federal Constitution. The Covid-19 pandemic has not only caused severe health and economic impacts, it has also posed challenges for students in accessing education.
“While schools and universities has resorted to technological solutions to conduct online classes and lectures for students, this did not ensure access to education for all as the underprivileged students faced difficulties in accessing online education due to the lack of access to internet or technological devices,” it added.
Given this, Suhakam commended the efforts by various parties including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and various elected representatives to provide laptops and tablets for the underprivileged students.