Education is a Human Right

Education is a basic human right. It not only gives you the knowledge of 3R’S, but also educates you morally, socially, religiously, culturally, and spiritually. It is the only path to get success in your life, to get a job with fatty packages, to make money, to fulfill all you desire and wishes, to convert your dreams into reality, to lead a respectable life.


To know the difference between right and wrong .It can convert your empty mind into an open mind. It makes you aware of your rights as well as duties. It is a powerful tool in the hands of a man to make his life better and worth living. So important is education in an individual’s life that the right to education is a fundamental human right.

Every individual irrespective of race, gender , nationality , ethnicity , religion or political preference is entitled to an education. It is responsibility of the government of the day to provide education to all its citizens.

Everyone one of us has the right to education. Education should be fair and free at all stages . Technical and professional education should be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. This however does not seem to be happening in our country.

Education is strictly advocated on a race basis thus denying the non malays the right to education. By denying the non malays the right to education, the UMNO govt. deliberate aim is to systematically keep the non malays backward so that they are not able reduce their social and economic disparity. Two groups that are most effected are the Indian rural community and the indigenous community . Without investment in education for these communities they have remained suppressed and poor.


It all began in 1971 when the NEP was implemented .

The aim of the NEP was quite simplistic – affirmative action for the malays in all areas of life and marginalization and suppression for the non malay citizens in all areas of life especially in education. The government of the day has been so blatantly racist in it education policies that The govenment has 2 separate exams for the university entry. STPM for non Malay and matriculation for Malays. The purpose for differential exams on race basis is yet again another tool on the part of the govt. to discriminate against the non malays.

The STPM exam that the non malays are required to sit for is so very much harder compared to matriculation. An A at the matriculation exam is equivalent to a C or D at the STPM exam. Yet at the point of university entry, Marticulation is given a higher preference over STPM. Most students today shy away from doing STPM.

This is perhaps the only country in the world where students are required to indicate on their exam paper whether they are bumiputra or not. This clearly shows the govts. intention to use education as a tool to discriminate against the non-Malays.

The education system has become so racially bias that meritocracy is totally irrelevant. This has gone on for almost 40years.

We are continuously faced with a dilemma where many students who have just completed their SPM with excellent results are denied the right to higher education. This is because they have not been awarded scholarship nor places to do matriculation. Their basic human rights under universal declaration of human rights have been violated .

Malay student even from rich and prestige’s families are awarded easy scholarship to study in expensive countries like UK US Australia Canada etc. Whist the poor non-Malay student are not even given the opportunity to study at local public universities.

Many good students come from poor families and do not have the financial means to peruse their undergraduate studies at private universities of overseas. It is so obvious that the govt racist polices in education is a violation of human rights. It completely violates the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human rights .

What actually is the aim of the govt.to deny non Malays the right higher education. We can only conclude that the aim of the UMNO govt is to deprive the Non- Malays the right to education and the other component parties in the BN like MIC, MCA. PPP, Gerakan have all been a willing partner to this racist policy.

by Malini Dass