Opening Hours
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm
E301 & E302 BLOCK E,
Kelana Parkview Tower,
1, Jalan SS 6/2,47301 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
RIGHT TO EQUAL EDUCATION
Every Child Has a Right to Education
We believe that every child has a right to education as guaranteed by Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over the years, we have realigned our intervention strategies with the essence of Sustainable Development Goals of ensuring that no one is left behind, in particular towards contributing to the achievement of SDG 4: “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.
Challenges in Accessing Education
Accessing education remain a challenge for a significant number of children in Malaysia including those from unprivileged families as well stateless and undocumented children. It’s a persistent issue that emerges through our grassroots interventions with the communities we work with, as reflected by the quote below:
"My youngest son is 13 now. He has to enroll in Sekolah Menengah. I haven’t done anything to enroll him yet. They are asking for my documents. But, I don’t have any documents. We have to pay RM250 every year for my children. I am still in daze after my husband’s passing. I really am at lost of what to do. I want my children to study and to have education. Then only they can have a good future."
Veeni
Stateless single mother of 3 stateless children
In the case of children whose family’s livelihood have been lost due to crises, the continuation of their education become questionable. Often, education is completely overlooked in prioritizing needs while deciding on allocation of whatever meagre resources the families have.
Access to Education for Stateless and Undocumented Children
When a child does not have any form of legal identification, he or she is deprived of access to basic human rights including access to education. The prolonged denial to the opportunities required for them to grow and progress as an individual has a tremendous impact on their mental health, as well as that of their families. We, thus, support the stateless children by assisting in the payment of levy to ease their financial burden and to reduce the number of dropouts caused by non-payment of the fees. Our paralegals play a crucial role in facilitating enrollment of these children in Government schools. They guide the children through the enrolment procedures in Government schools and help them to catch up with their peers. They also assist in filing out the required forms at the State Education Department, and obtain a verification letter from the village head.
Bridging Digital Gap
COVID-19 necessitated implementation of home-based learning initiatives to ensure education of children is not neglected during the extended MCO period. The initiative, while provided the children the opportunity to continue their education, was not viable to be adopted by all especially vulnerable communities who do not have the access to internet connectivity nor were the financial means to purchase the required devices such as smart phone to ensure the children are able to participate in the online classes. With continuous support of our donors, we were able to bridge the digital gap by purchasing and providing digital devices and internet connectivity to children who do not have equal access to online learning.
Crucial Element for Better Future
Through our decades of experience of working with the underprivileged and stateless communities in Malaysia, we came to realize access to education as one of the crucial elements in ensuring a better future for children from these communities. Hence, we strive to create opportunity for stateless and underprivileged children to pursue their education, and assisting them to reach their highest potential in life.