Do not overburden children, let them enjoy school life

[Love Pulse]

COMPLAINTS about burdening children with unnecessarily heavy book loads have been persistent for a long time.

However, the Education Ministry has not resolved the problem and our poor children continue to bear the burden of heavy book loads every day.

This goes against their wellbeing and the simple satisfaction of happily going to school as we did.

Hence, it’s no wonder that there is more indiscipline and frustration in schools today. All this leads to increase in truancy and bullying in schools.

The ministry must largely accept the responsibility for this bad state of affairs.

After all, the ministry has issued circulars on heavy workbooks and homework in 2000 and 2004.

The majority of parents and students are being let down because of poor enforcement of the ministry’s circulars by education officials.

This is also because some parents insist that teachers give more homework, thus creating need to carry more books to school.

As former education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom has stated, the purpose of education is to produce holistic pupils and building character, and if I may add, nurturing our future leaders.

But, are we ignoring this goal by burdening children with too much homework, curbing their enthusiasm to learn and think critically, and enjoy their childhood and school life?

Those days, we enjoyed school much more and yet prospered. Can we give this gift to our children and grandchildren, too?

Malacca Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin lamented that we are still “exam-oriented”.

Parents Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abd Rahim suggested that parents and schools agree on the number of workbooks to be used in school.

With stronger leadership from the minister and senior officials, there will be more support for the enforcement of the ministry circulars.

One important solution, even if temporary, would be for the school to provide lockers so that students can keep their heavy workbooks at school. Some schools sell these lockers at only RM15 per locker, which is reasonable.

Students who cannot afford it can be subsidized by the school’s parent-teacher association.

Don’t burden children and stifle their precious childhood and joy of school life.

Nurture their joy of learning and yearning to serve our beloved country on its 60th anniversary and beyond 2050 with Transformasi Nasional 2050!