Audit on illegal computer classes in Chinese vernacular schools done tomorrow (Updated)

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor Education Department is expected to complete its audit tomorrow on alleged illegal computer classes in all Chinese vernacular schools.
The audit, which was launched on Tuesday following continuous pressure and complaints from aggrieved parents, also includes canteen management, students per capita expenses and bookstore management.
Persatuan Jaringan Ibubapa Pencinta Pendidikan Bahasa Zhong Hua (Jia Zong) adviser Edward Neoh Chuan Tat claimed that there is a clear breach of the Education Act 1996 by conducting the computer literacy classes within school hours.
"Not just the classes are being included within the school timetable, it is also conducted by external tutors who are not trained by the ministry," he told theSun.
"Under the law, a teacher not trained by the ministry cannot teach in government schools and they cannot teach anything outside the approved syllabus.
"But what is worse is that the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is taking huge amounts of profit by charging the students for these classes in the name of donations," he said.
Neoh recalled numerous complaints made by parents individually and through Jia Zhong to the ministry over these practices in the Chinese vernacular schools.
However, he pointed out that although before the elections there was a directive to ban computer classes during school hours, the schools continued to conduct the classes using external vendors during school hours due to lack of enforcement.
This had led to the students and parents being burdened by the additional class and its cost over the years.
One of the aggrieved parents, who wished to remain anonymous, said in one of the schools, students are being taught Tux Paint and PowerPoint, which will not be useful for primary students.
"No one is objecting to running computer or IT literacy classes but why must there be a specific fee be charged with a deadline? But the school calls it donation.
"Hence, parents feel the pressure of having to fork out so much money. PIBG in some of these urban schools on the other hand are running the PIBG as a commercial entity," the parent told theSun.
Neoh urged Education Minister Maszlee Malik to take action on this breach of the law and resolve the woes of the parents and students of Chinese vernacular schools.
"The school managements are appealing to the ministry to give them extension of time to stop the computer classes during school hours.
"This is because they do not want the class timetables to be disrupted and to also ensure that payments are collected before the classes are stopped," he said.
Maszlee however is yet to respond on the continuous woes of Chinese school students.
It is learnt that representatives of PTAs will submit a memorandum to the ministry to allow the implementation of computer classes within the school timetable.