KUALA LUMPUR: Through no fault of their own, stateless children are losing almost two years of primary and secondary school education, and at least on humanitarian grounds, this needs to be corrected, said Family Frontiers programme manager Melinda Anne Sharlini.
She said the government should allow all children equal access to education regardless of citizenship status and that they should not be discriminated against.
She added that even adopted children who are stateless, suffer such discrimination.
“As children of one or more citizens, they should be entitled to privileges that their Malaysian siblings and friends have access to – such as textbook loan scheme, free meal programmes and health examinations for children in schools,” she told theSun.
Melinda said undocumented children continue to face challenges concerning enrolment in public schools, including delays in bureaucratic processes that lead to children attending school months after their classmates.
She said parents had to endure such long processes or send their children to private schools that charge exorbitant fees.
“Lower income families will usually not have access to private schools. This impacts a child’s growth and potential. This is a gross violation of the child’s fundamental right to education.”
She said the “zero reject policy” of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund states that no child should be left out of the education system.
She added that the policy specifically serves to ensure inclusiveness for undocumented or non-citizen children (of Malaysians). Malaysia became a signatory to this policy in 2019.
Senior Education Minister Radzi Jidin had denied that the policy applied to stateless children.
Disagreeing with Radzi, Melinda said that the government should expand the zero reject policy and ensure that no child is left behind, irrespective of documentation status.
She also called on the authorities to establish streamlined standard operating procedures (SOP) for student enrolment in the country.
She said this would ensure that the public understood the SOP.
Nor Izeni Ismail, who adopted a four-year-old stateless boy in 2016, said unlike other children, she had to pay additional school fees and buy textbooks for him.
“There are specific forms to fill, where I have to give my consent to pay for school fees, textbooks and even basic immunisation.
“Immunisation and vaccinations at school cost my family a lot. At least textbooks should be loaned to my son just like in the case of other Malaysian children.”
Nor Izeni added that if her son is not well, clinics or hospitals charge him more, just like other non-citizens.
“As a parent, who adopted a stateless child, we hope such children will be given equal opportunities to pursue education.”