THE Penang government has urged the Education Ministry to allow non-citizen children, including the adopted ones, to be enrolled in government schools.
Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P. Ramasamy said the new ruling that came into force this year requires that all children who are non-citizens to get a passport from their respective countries.
“And the biological mother of the child must be present to get a passport from the respective country.
“The problem now is how are the adopted parents going to get that document since they don’t even know the whereabouts of the child’s biological mother?
“In Penang itself, we have received 19 reports from parents that their non-citizen adopted children are barred from enrolling in school this year. These children were, however, allowed to continue their education in the school the previous years. I believe the figure is also high in other states as well.
“I have also written an official letter, highlighting this matter, to the state Education Department on Nov 13 last year. There is still no response from the department until now.
“Thus, I hope that the state Education Department, together with the Education Ministry, can find a solution as soon as possible,” Ramasamy told a press conference at his office in Komtar today.
Ramasamy added that the ministry should not deny these children the rights to a proper education. It is a fundamental right of every human being.
“What future will they have if this situation persists?
“They don’t ask for any financial assistance; they just want to go to school and get a proper education. That’s all.
“During the administration of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, we allowed non-citizen children, including the adopted ones, to be enrolled in government schools as long as they could provide the relevant documents and a court order. Thus, I hope the current government will follow that policy.
“Or at least, let them enrol in the school first while waiting to get the passport.
“After all, they need to remember that not all parents can send their non-citizen children to private schools, especially those from the B40 group. So, this must be solved quickly,” said Ramasamy, who is in charge of the state Human Resources, Education, Science and Technology portfolio.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi