I welcome the announcement of Tun Dr Mahathir that the Permata programme will be transferred from the Prime Minister’s Department to the Education Ministry.
Pakatan Harapan MPs have been urging BN government to do the same thing. Finally our proposal is taken up by the new PH Government.
However, placing PERMATA under MOE is only the first step to reform our early childhood education.
In Malaysia, early childhood education are monitored and regulated by several bodies, such as Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM), Jabatan Kemajuan Masyarakat (KEMAS), Jabatan Pendidikan Negara, Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional and of course, PERMATA. Such arrangement is a complete waste of time and resources.
We have therefore proposed in the Pakatan Harapan Manifesto that all pre- school education centres that are now supervised by various departments and ministries will be placed under one roof, known as the Early Childhood Development Agency. Low-income families will receive subsidies.
Early Childhood Development Agency should be the regulatory and development authority for early childhood sector, overseeing key aspects of children’s development below the age of 7 year old. Its main task is to supervise and regulate the quality of early childhood education centres, curriculums and teachers.
After putting PERMATA under MOE, we hope to see more initiative of MOE to set up the Early Childhood Development Agency in Malaysia. By having a Early Childhood Development Agency, we believe PH government will be able to: –
- Promote accessibility by master-planning the infrastructure and manpower resources to support the early childhood sector;
- Enhance affordability by providing subsidies and grants to keep quality pre-school programmes affordable; and
- Develop capabilities and raise the quality standards of Centres and Professionals.
Let’s work together to give our kids a bright start!