PUBLIC service is an important arm for the government to get things done. But at times, things don't get done in time. We take "service" to mean responsive service. Late delivery is as bad as no delivery.
Take the case of the school food supplementary programme rates. If the Malaysian Canteen Operators Association is right, the going rate for Peninsular Malaysia is RM2.50 and RM3 for Sabah and Sarawak. What can RM2.50 buy in inflation-hit Malaysia?
A plate of plain rice at the most? Is this the lunch of Malaysia's future leaders? What is worse, the rates were last revised in 2015. Not that no requests were made to the Education Ministry for a revision, though we contend a responsive public service won't wait for concerns to be raised before it acts.
Two requests, one in 2020 and another in October last year, didn't get the intended response. And so, the poor schoolchildren have been eating food that shouldn't even be served free.
Fortunately, the Health Ministry, being concerned about the quality of food, is seeking a revision of the rates.
This isn't the first time the Education Ministry has been slow to respond. In April, this very Leader brought to the attention of the nation the plight of heavily burdened teachers leaving the profession in droves. Not because they were weighed down by teaching, but by chores far removed from the profession.
It didn't just happen in April, but it came to a boil when the number of teachers opting to quit early equalled those going on compulsory retirement.
It was a case of long neglect. A common lament is this: whenever a new minister or new officer takes over, a new way of sapping the energy of teachers is set in motion. Perhaps the ministers and officers don't realise it, but when the "new way" hits the ground in the schools, it drains the energy out of the teachers.
It will be a surprise if those in Putrajaya do not know that many teachers are forced to stay up until midnight to mark assignments and fill form after form.
Teachers or petition writers? Hard to tell. Sadly, teachers aren't the only ones suffering. Schoolchildren, too, have their laments. One such surfaced on Friday in Bukit Mertajam.
It was a case of alleged bullying of a Year Five pupil, not once but on several occasions. The last of which had left him with injuries on the face. The mother lodged a complaint with the school, but was advised not to proceed with it.
She wisely has lodged a police report. To be fair, we can't blame this on the state Education Department. And most certainly, not the Education Ministry in Putrajaya.
The buck should stop at the class teacher and the school principal. Schools should not be breeding grounds for bullies.
The teacher may not have witnessed the bullying, but the moment she is made aware of the incident, she should have escalated the complaint to the principal.
And he, in turn, should have alerted the police. To do otherwise would mean the school is saying okay to bullying. If pupils are bullies at this young age, they certainly will be thugs when they grow up.
No school should be proud of this. We want a nation of leaders, not a nation of thugs.
