Before coming to TFM I had very little knowledge on anything to do with NGOs and the education system of our country. I have always been sheltered growing up, and never truly understood anything outside of what I needed to know. All of this changed when I joined TFM because I finally got a broader understanding of what the world was like outside my little bubble and the reality is quite shocking.
How Has My Internship Changed My Views
During the first few days, I was given tasks to understand Teach For Malaysia’s goals and I was tasked with researching the education inequality in Malaysia. What I found shocked me to my very core; I realised that over 50% of Malaysian students at the age of 15 do not have basic proficiency in reading and writing. This was a shocking realisation to understand just how badly our young population has been affected by the lack of equity in our education system. I began to understand that the reason behind this problem was due to the large gap in educational standards between private and public schools.
In Malaysia, many children from low-income families lack access to quality education, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. I have been blessed with the privilege of going to a private school where I have access to clean toilets, a variety of meals, more than enough desks and chairs, books, whiteboards, and devices. Many public schools in Malaysia lack basic resources or conditions for studying as one of our Fellows has reported there being not enough chairs and how the fans rarely work. Imagine this; you’re sitting in a hot room and the fan is not working. The topic that is being taught is hard to understand but the heat is making you feel drowsy and unable to focus properly.
This is how those students feel on a daily basis, and what’s even worse is that a room with an AC is considered luxury and not many public schools have these. This is something that many people in private schools and international schools take for granted. The toilets are unhygienic and sometimes the flushes don’t even work and the playground is almost always vandalised, making it an unsafe area for kids to play during their breaks. Many schools have libraries that don’t have enough books for all their students and there are some where there isn’t even space for students to sit and study comfortably.
The reason for the large difference in the quality of the schools is primarily because schools lack the resources needed to teach their students effectively, as the teachers may not be well-trained or well-equipped to handle the situation, and this comes from the issue of a lack of funding.
World Children’s Day
Children’s Day is celebrated on 20th of October in Malaysia. It’s a reason to celebrate the future generation. It’s a reason to celebrate their achievements and the obstacles they’ve overcome. It’s a reason to celebrate their prospects and dreams. But it’s also a reminder that not all children can achieve this dream. The World Children’s Day is a reminder of the joy and potential in every child. Yet, educational inequality prevents many from reaching their full potential.
“I want everyone to have the same opportunities but we don’t have the resources.” One of our members in the TFM Community Mobilisation group said this and expressed how due to limited resources, not all children are given the same opportunities and those that get opportunities are the ones that always get it. Donations can help us get more resources to give more children a chance to shine and show their full potential in schools.
20,000 students drop out of school each year with 1 in 5 students not completing their secondary education. This means that around 20% of our young population do not complete their secondary education and are at a much bigger disadvantage than anyone else. And yet…why does no one seem to care? In 2021, there were around 7,700 primary public schools but only 132 private primary schools. This is a huge difference between school numbers and highlights one of the big problems which is that not every child can afford to go to a private school and have to settle with public schools.
Unfortunately for them, public schools do not have the same facilities as private schools due to a much more limited budget as compared to private schools. With your donations, we can increase the budget and make the public school budget less limited; we can buy books and computers and anything the students need to learn. We can properly train teachers so they know how to teach well and so the students get the chance they deserve for a better future.
Just take a moment while reading this and think, “What if your donation could change the life of a child forever on World Children’s Day?” Isn’t that an amazing thought? On this day of collective celebration of children’s potential and rights, you can make your mark by donating to help change the lives of our future generation. Celebrate by supporting schools that can help bridge the gap for underprivileged students.
With this knowledge, I implore you readers to please consider making a donation today to help make quality education access easier for these children, and to help them properly get the resources needed to find and nurture their untapped, trapped potential. Your donations can provide essential resources like textbooks, tuition, and digital devices to children in need. You can help Break The Cycle of education inequity with your donations. We must begin to ask ourselves the big question. What do we want for our children? What do we want for our country? What do we want the future to be like? Children are the future of our country and every child that is forced to drop out, every child that gets inadequate education, and every child that gets ignored in favor of the more fortunate is one person full of untapped potential wasted. Our country will suffer as a result of our ignorance if this continues but if we properly educate every child then our country’s prosperity and wealth will only grow. Every day that passes is a missed opportunity for a child in need. Act now to make a difference.
To make your donation to help a child receive quality education, click sini.
*An experiential piece, written by a 16 year old student, who spent her summer holidays interning at Teach For Malaysia.
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