April 14, 2005

• Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in voicing his rejection to license more Chinese-medium schools (and other vernacular schools) said that “… in such schools where students share a curriculum and facilities, that students of different races will learn to bond with each other,” he said. “This experience will benefit them tremendously and strengthen the bonds and unity the Government has been trying so hard to improve.”
  
  I wish the prognosis for national unity is that simple, but the above statement explains why homeschool isn’t going to find favour with the MOE anytime soon.
  
  It is noteworthy that our PM’s views are shared by many other officials who exert influence on education in the country. National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng was reported as saying that school is the best place to inculcate good values among children as they spend six hours there daily. SUHAKAM commissioner Datuk N Siva Subramaniam (also the previous Sec-Gen of NUTP) agrees that the school is perfect for “educating children on ethics, unity, patience and tolerance.”
  
  In another development, Higher Education parliamentary-secretary Dr Adham Baba announced that Malaysian students wishing to study abroad would now require a ‘non-objection certificate’ before leaving the country. Needless to say, his proposal triggered loud rounds of protests. It appears the Government wants to have a say on who qualifies for studies abroad. “We will advise them from going abroad if their academic records are not so good and we won’t issue the certificate,” he said. 
  

  The politicization of education in the country ensures that the dictates of national agenda such as race, language, religion, and integration will supersede other considerations. Like real education. So if you are homeschooling, know that education in the country lies at the intersection of vested interests and officials who have enough power to change its shape and form at a mere keystroke.
  
  What this means is, nothing is ever certain. Questions we’re often asked about legality of homeschooling and transition to college are at best qualified answers. Yes, there are ways to get around the hurdles if you want to homeschool; and sure, many homeschoolers have indeed found their way into private colleges, thank God.
  
  Yet parents who choose to educate their child at home truly walk by faith, that internal conviction (often acted out in reckless trust) without which the letter writer to the Hebrews says it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). We may never have enough knowledge to fill in the blanks or anticipate things to come, but we surely have enough understanding to press on, by God’s grace. The truth is, it’s about walking by faith and not by sight.
  
  In times like this I draw encouragement from Scripture that our God remains sovereign over all, both the seen and unseen. Even the hearts of kings rest in God’s hand, as Proverbs 21:1 says, and He “directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases.”

  
  

  In the meantime, I’ll be doing alot of watching and praying.

  • 3:49 am
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