OPINION | Fadhlina’s Not the Problem - Our Parenting Culture Is

There have been loud calls for the Education Minister to step down after the string of shocking incidents in our schools.

First, it was bullying. Then rape. And now, murder.

But is Fadhlina Sidek really at fault?

I understand the outrage. Schools are supposed to be safe spaces where children learn, grow, and feel protected. When that sense of safety collapses, every parent’s heart sinks. We start imagining our own child in those headlines.

But our frustration shouldn’t make us jump at the easiest target.

Even the Prime Minister recently chimed in, blaming the lack of moral education in schools for the crisis.

I disagree.

Students bring to school what they’ve learned at home

I’m a product of the national education system - so are my siblings, and so are my children. And believe me, there’s no shortage of moral lessons in Malaysian schools. We have Pendidikan Moral, Pendidikan Agama, Pendidikan Sivik. Even Bahasa Melayu and English textbooks are filled with stories about honesty, empathy, respect and kindness.

So no, the system isn’t failing to teach values. The problem is that too many children arrive at school with no foundation to begin with.

It’s easy to point fingers at teachers and ministers - but it’s disappointing, and frankly unfair, when even the Prime Minister does it. Because the truth is simple: students bring to school what they’ve learned at home.

Not every parent has the time or willingness to instil good values before sending their children out the door.

Some parents are strict about religion, but forget that religion and morality aren’t the same thing. In Malaysia, being “religious” often just means praying, fasting, and going to the mosque. But you can do all that and still bully, still lie, still hurt others.

Then there are parents who keep having more children than they can raise - popping out babies without the means or patience to guide them. In the end, teachers are expected to parent the children they didn’t make.

And on the other end, we have parents with every resource imaginable - except time. The modern world, career ambitions, and social life take centre stage, while parenting gets outsourced to screens, tuition centres, and domestic helpers.

So how fair is it to keep blaming the education system?

Teacher are not magicians

Schools are already carrying the burden of a broken society - trying to patch the emotional and moral gaps left by homes that have checked out. Teachers are not magicians. They can teach civics and compassion, but they can’t undo what years of neglect have shaped.

Maybe before we demand the Education Minister’s resignation, we should start demanding that parents stop producing children they have no intention - or capacity - to raise properly.

Because it’s not a lack of moral education that’s destroying our children. It’s a lack of moral upbringing.

And maybe it’s also time we face a difficult truth: not every student belongs in a mainstream classroom.

Schools should have the right - and the courage - to remove persistently problematic students through clear warnings, suspensions, and ultimately, expulsion. We need alternative education pathways where discipline is stricter and guidance more intensive. Because while every child deserves an education, not every child deserves to endanger others while getting it.

Parents who do their part - who raise respectful, kind, responsible children - deserve assurance that their kids will be safe in school.

Fadhlina’s job is to reform the system, not raise the nation’s children. That job belongs to us.

Fa Abdul (fa.abdul.penang@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!

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