Sunday June 22, 2008
Fine arts for all
THE article, “Seeking refuge in music” (StarEducation, June 8), makes readers in Malaysia and beyond realise how fortunate our children are as they can opt for an education in music or any other subject, without facing repercussions from militants or extremist groups.
Despite being exposed to music and some elements of the fine arts, not all Malaysian children have full access to them.
While music is part of the school curriculum, it is not offered in all schools. The subject is not given much emphasis and children keen on pursuing music have to do so on their own.
Parents who can afford it often have to fork out hundreds of ringgit each month to pay for their children’s music lesons and dance classes, while those who cannot, deprive their children, some of whom are very talented.
I have seen schoolchildren at both elementary and secondary levels who form musical ensembles ranging from pop to rock with their neighbours or classmates
It is not just a hobby for them; they compete in inter-school or national music competitions like the Battle of the Bands.
Without a fine arts education, we will only create philistines of our children. Do we want to emphasise the sciences and let our children think that all things associated with music and the arts are “useless”?
Studies have proven that children who are exposed to music and the arts often turn out to be more compassionate adults.
It is time we bring music and other elements of the fine arts back into the mainstream of education. By doing so, school choirs, orchestras and dance clubs will be revived, together with the marching bands and rock bands.
Such a move will also enable children from all walks of life, and not just a select few, to appreciate the subject.
Yinyang Via e-mail
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Schools to start planting trees to instil love for the environs
Wednesday June 18, 2008
Schools to start planting trees to instil love for the environs
By CHARLES FERNANDEZ
charlesf@thestar.com.my
SCHOOLS nationwide will be encouraged to embark on a treeplanting programme beginning next month to instil among students a liking for a lifestyle that is based on responsibility towards the environment and sustainable use of resources.
Deputy education director for schools division Datuk Noor Rezan Bapoo Hashim said the programme would focus on meeting the target of 20 million trees by 2020.
She said the ministry was identifying the species and the number of trees needed to be planted in each school based on its locality.
Speaking at the launch of the Toyota Eco-Rangers (TER) environmental programme workshop held at the Look-Out Point in Hulu Langat, Noor Rezan noted that while it would be an uphill task to introduce the tree-planting exercise in Klang Valley schools, it would be easier to implement in rural schools because of the large open areas available.
Responsible youngsters: Some of the participants of the Toyota Eco Rangers programme outlining their duties during its launch.
“The types of trees will be determined by the Landscape Department while the quantity would be decided by the respective schools,” she added.
She said once the tree-planting programme was in place and ongoing, the department would work closely with the Children's Environmental Heritage Foundation (CEHF) to monitor its progress and provide assistance to the schools in other similar environmental activities.
She added that the inclusion of environmental studies in the secondary school syllabus reflected how the curriculum had been redesigned to promote environmental awareness among students.
The TER programme, a joint initiative between UMW Toyota Motor and CEHF, is aimed at fostering an appreciation and understanding of nature by teaching secondary school students how to care for trees.
Under this programme, each of the 23 schools selected by the Education Ministry will be entrusted with planting and caring for 100 trees of various kinds in the school compound and the surrounding community.
“The pilot project involving 46 students and two teachers each from 23 schools in the Klang Valley is to test how successful the three-day workshop is and how best to implement the project.
“It is conceived as a way to promote awareness of the environment among schoolchildren.
“They are required to identify the types of trees that are suitable for their school's soil and surroundings and to justify their selection of a particular species,” added Noor Rezan.
UMW Toyota Motor managing director Kuah Kock Heng, in his speech read by executive director Aminar Rashid Salleh, said the students would apply the knowledge they had gained from the workshop in the planting of the trees.
“This newly-conceptualised programme is UMW Toyota Motor's extension to the Toyota Eco Youth programme under the CSR environment pillar,” said Kuah.
He added that the programme was a means to reach a wider group of schoolchildren.
It was best to educate them on the importance of the environment from a young age as they were not yet set in their ways and it would be easier to eradicate their bad habits, Kuah said.
Schools to start planting trees to instil love for the environs
By CHARLES FERNANDEZ
charlesf@thestar.com.my
SCHOOLS nationwide will be encouraged to embark on a treeplanting programme beginning next month to instil among students a liking for a lifestyle that is based on responsibility towards the environment and sustainable use of resources.
Deputy education director for schools division Datuk Noor Rezan Bapoo Hashim said the programme would focus on meeting the target of 20 million trees by 2020.
She said the ministry was identifying the species and the number of trees needed to be planted in each school based on its locality.
Speaking at the launch of the Toyota Eco-Rangers (TER) environmental programme workshop held at the Look-Out Point in Hulu Langat, Noor Rezan noted that while it would be an uphill task to introduce the tree-planting exercise in Klang Valley schools, it would be easier to implement in rural schools because of the large open areas available.
Responsible youngsters: Some of the participants of the Toyota Eco Rangers programme outlining their duties during its launch.
“The types of trees will be determined by the Landscape Department while the quantity would be decided by the respective schools,” she added.
She said once the tree-planting programme was in place and ongoing, the department would work closely with the Children's Environmental Heritage Foundation (CEHF) to monitor its progress and provide assistance to the schools in other similar environmental activities.
She added that the inclusion of environmental studies in the secondary school syllabus reflected how the curriculum had been redesigned to promote environmental awareness among students.
The TER programme, a joint initiative between UMW Toyota Motor and CEHF, is aimed at fostering an appreciation and understanding of nature by teaching secondary school students how to care for trees.
Under this programme, each of the 23 schools selected by the Education Ministry will be entrusted with planting and caring for 100 trees of various kinds in the school compound and the surrounding community.
“The pilot project involving 46 students and two teachers each from 23 schools in the Klang Valley is to test how successful the three-day workshop is and how best to implement the project.
“It is conceived as a way to promote awareness of the environment among schoolchildren.
“They are required to identify the types of trees that are suitable for their school's soil and surroundings and to justify their selection of a particular species,” added Noor Rezan.
UMW Toyota Motor managing director Kuah Kock Heng, in his speech read by executive director Aminar Rashid Salleh, said the students would apply the knowledge they had gained from the workshop in the planting of the trees.
“This newly-conceptualised programme is UMW Toyota Motor's extension to the Toyota Eco Youth programme under the CSR environment pillar,” said Kuah.
He added that the programme was a means to reach a wider group of schoolchildren.
It was best to educate them on the importance of the environment from a young age as they were not yet set in their ways and it would be easier to eradicate their bad habits, Kuah said.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Student beaten up for refusing to join gang
Tuesday June 10, 2008
Student beaten up for refusing to join gang
ALOR STAR: A 16-year-old student was beaten up by a group of men outside his school in Lorong Merpati here for refusing to join their gang.
The Form Four boy suffered injuries on his head which needed more than 15 stitches in the 7am incident yesterday.
The student, from Jalan Kuala Kedah, said two cars stopped near a stall where he was having breakfast with his friends and six men emerged. Two, wearing helmets and armed with metal rods, started attacking him.
“They shouted foul language at me and asked why I refused to join their gang,” he said when met at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital.
He said the beating only stopped when passers-by threatened to call the police. A schoolmate sent him to hospital. He later lodged a police report.
“I fear for my life because the men know where I live,” he said.
Kota Star OCPD Assistant Comm Frederick Liso Senap said police were investigating.
Student beaten up for refusing to join gang
ALOR STAR: A 16-year-old student was beaten up by a group of men outside his school in Lorong Merpati here for refusing to join their gang.
The Form Four boy suffered injuries on his head which needed more than 15 stitches in the 7am incident yesterday.
The student, from Jalan Kuala Kedah, said two cars stopped near a stall where he was having breakfast with his friends and six men emerged. Two, wearing helmets and armed with metal rods, started attacking him.
“They shouted foul language at me and asked why I refused to join their gang,” he said when met at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital.
He said the beating only stopped when passers-by threatened to call the police. A schoolmate sent him to hospital. He later lodged a police report.
“I fear for my life because the men know where I live,” he said.
Kota Star OCPD Assistant Comm Frederick Liso Senap said police were investigating.
Sports school among ‘cluster’
Tuesday June 10, 2008
Sports school among ‘cluster’
By SIMRIT KAUR
PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry has named the second batch of 30 cluster schools to be given additional funding and greater autonomy to improve performance.
Among them are Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak in Seremban, SMK (L) Methodist in Kuala Lumpur, SJKC Lick Hung in Subang Jaya, SMJK Ave Maria Convent in Ipoh and the Bukit Jalil Sports School in Kuala Lumpur.
“This brings the cluster of excellent schools to 60. By 2010, we hope to have 300 such schools,” said Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein here yesterday.
The schools can apply for funding of up to RM500,000 to carry out various projects. They must also identify niche areas (curriculum and non-curriculum) that they want to focus on.
Hishammuddin also received a report from the Clusters of Excellence Advisory Board containing 75 recommendations to make the cluster schools a success.
Among the proposals forwarded were school-based assessment, including the abolition of the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), laptops for all schoolchildren, single-session schools and smaller class sizes.
“We will study the recommendations and decide which can be adopted,” Hishammuddin said, adding that some of them had far-reaching consequences and would require changes to current rules and regulations.
He added that the ministry would make the report public to gather feedback on the recommendations from all stakeholders such as teachers and parents.
Hishammuddin also said that cluster school heads had been sent for courses at King’s College London in Britain, Monash University in Australia, Waikato University in New Zealand and Institut Aminuddin Baki in Genting Highlands to improve their leadership and management skills.
Commenting on the proposal by schoolbus operators to raise fares by up to RM50 following the reduction in fuel subsidy, Hishammuddin described the amount as “excessive”.
“I call on everyone not to take advantage of the situation and make schoolchildren victims of the current situation.”
Sports school among ‘cluster’
By SIMRIT KAUR
PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry has named the second batch of 30 cluster schools to be given additional funding and greater autonomy to improve performance.
Among them are Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak in Seremban, SMK (L) Methodist in Kuala Lumpur, SJKC Lick Hung in Subang Jaya, SMJK Ave Maria Convent in Ipoh and the Bukit Jalil Sports School in Kuala Lumpur.
“This brings the cluster of excellent schools to 60. By 2010, we hope to have 300 such schools,” said Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein here yesterday.
The schools can apply for funding of up to RM500,000 to carry out various projects. They must also identify niche areas (curriculum and non-curriculum) that they want to focus on.
Hishammuddin also received a report from the Clusters of Excellence Advisory Board containing 75 recommendations to make the cluster schools a success.
Among the proposals forwarded were school-based assessment, including the abolition of the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), laptops for all schoolchildren, single-session schools and smaller class sizes.
“We will study the recommendations and decide which can be adopted,” Hishammuddin said, adding that some of them had far-reaching consequences and would require changes to current rules and regulations.
He added that the ministry would make the report public to gather feedback on the recommendations from all stakeholders such as teachers and parents.
Hishammuddin also said that cluster school heads had been sent for courses at King’s College London in Britain, Monash University in Australia, Waikato University in New Zealand and Institut Aminuddin Baki in Genting Highlands to improve their leadership and management skills.
Commenting on the proposal by schoolbus operators to raise fares by up to RM50 following the reduction in fuel subsidy, Hishammuddin described the amount as “excessive”.
“I call on everyone not to take advantage of the situation and make schoolchildren victims of the current situation.”
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Check teens’ handphones for porn, parents urged
Sunday June 8, 2008
Check teens’ handphones for porn, parents urged
KUALA LUMPUR: Parents have been urged to check the handphones of their teenage children as they could have downloaded pornographic video clips or photographs.
For between RM5 and RM30, the images can easily be downloaded at handphone outlets where prices depend on the duration and quality of the images.
The father of a 15-year-old boy has complained to the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association after finding such videos on his phone and got the name of the outlet he had obtained the videos from.
The association's project director Noor Nirwandy Mat Nordin said teenagers were now exposed to various modes of information, communication and technology and close supervision was vital to prevent them from abusing the use of such gadgets.
He said families should be serious in looking into the matter so that the young would not be influenced by such immorality.
He said the authorities must act to prevent handphone outlet operators profiting from teenagers' pocket money.
“The availability of lewd video clips for handphones will certainly lead to moral decay in society and the authorities have to take action before it gets out of control.
“It may initially look harmless but the impact is that it could lead to curiosity and stimulate the urge of trying to have sex with their peers,” Noor Nirwandy told a press conference on Friday.
He said teenagers found possessing such pornographic material on their handphones would be counselled by the association.
Check teens’ handphones for porn, parents urged
KUALA LUMPUR: Parents have been urged to check the handphones of their teenage children as they could have downloaded pornographic video clips or photographs.
For between RM5 and RM30, the images can easily be downloaded at handphone outlets where prices depend on the duration and quality of the images.
The father of a 15-year-old boy has complained to the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association after finding such videos on his phone and got the name of the outlet he had obtained the videos from.
The association's project director Noor Nirwandy Mat Nordin said teenagers were now exposed to various modes of information, communication and technology and close supervision was vital to prevent them from abusing the use of such gadgets.
He said families should be serious in looking into the matter so that the young would not be influenced by such immorality.
He said the authorities must act to prevent handphone outlet operators profiting from teenagers' pocket money.
“The availability of lewd video clips for handphones will certainly lead to moral decay in society and the authorities have to take action before it gets out of control.
“It may initially look harmless but the impact is that it could lead to curiosity and stimulate the urge of trying to have sex with their peers,” Noor Nirwandy told a press conference on Friday.
He said teenagers found possessing such pornographic material on their handphones would be counselled by the association.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Hanafiah-Successful PIBG secret recipe
Assalamualaikum,
Dengan izin, saya ingin berkongsi satu pandangan yang saya jumpa dalam internet. http://rights2write.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/successful-pibg-secret-recipe/
Saya baca 3x untuk memahami tulisan nya. Ada yang seiring dengan pemikiran saya dan ada yang keterlaluan. Apa pun ini adalah pandangan penulis dan kita sebagai AJK PIBG perlu juga tahu apa orang lain kata mengenai PIBG....
Here is the article...
Successful PIBG secret recipe
A few days ago, I got a call from a total stranger after reading my write-up in MT. She claims to be a parent from one of the school in Selangor and the parents there faces a big problem in managing the PIBG. After talking to me, she asked me whether I could do a write-up on what is the best recipe in making a PIBG a healthy environment for all stake holders in school.
After spending a few days thinking what I should write, I find that there is no universal recipes that can be applied. Like a bowl of mee curry, the recipe of agood mee curry varies from one state to the other. The same applies to the PIBG. The only common thing is probably the noodles. The various cook need to blend their own based materials to ensure a taste that is acceptable to the person that taste it. The successful PIBG needs to take into account the local environment to blend the various raw materials to have the produce the best mee curry. Having said that, there are some basic principles that we need to understand to make the PIBG tick.
As the name applies, PIBG members consist of parents and teachers. In this association both the parents and teachers stand together at the same height. No one is higher than the other. You can have a PhD for that matter or being a corporate leader (or being a Tan Sri etc) and the teacher can be just a Diploma holder but in a PIBG we are all equals. Being equals means that we have equal voice. Being equal means that we don't look down on others or expecting people to look up upon you. It is a place where we can joke, lough and make fun without prejudice.Being equals means that we can sit down and make rational decision for the benefit and to meet the PIBG objectives.
In many PIBG that I have seen, there are several malady that I see. On paper, the committee consist of parents and teacher. In reality the organization is run by the school i.e. the HM's. The YDP comes and do opening ceremonies. The YDP and the treasurer just sign away monies as requested by the school. The exco rarely meets and when they do meet, it is just a matter of formality. During meeting it always a one way communication between the school head and the rest of the committee and the role of the YDP is limited to being the chairperson of that meeting. This is a serious illnesses. It is cancerous and dangerous. This is wrong.
As in line with the PIBG constitution the children is our focus. The PIBG role is so clearly define by its constitution. It's function is not to run the school or to maintain the school infrastructure. As parents and teachers we all must understand that the PIBG is a self regulatory organization that is independent of the school. The PIBG independence is the main thrust. If there is a clear instructions that PIBG cannot interfere with the school administrations, similarly the Registrar of Schools must come out and document in writing that school head as administrator cannot interfere in the running of the PIBG. The role of the school head is already well defined i.e. as an advisor. Many school head does not realized the scope of being an "advisor". Being an advisor is different from being the head of the PIBG. The YDP and the committee consults and seek advice from the school head on issues related to regulations and meeting student needs. He does not report to the school head nor does he must toe what the school head says. They must play their respective role and find a win win situation that benefits the children.
Both the parent and teachers must play a greater role in the PIBG. Parents and teacher must have the freedom to vote according to the people that they think can run the organization. In many case we see that the teachers has been instructed by the school head that they should vote according to instruction of the school head. The person that is elected are usually a Dato or Datin or a YB or a person that the HM's is comfortable with. As I had mention in the initial part of this write-up, ranks, titles and your relationship and position with VIP's are not important. Members (parents and teachers) must vote according to their free will and they must vote the people who can run the organization and not the person that warms up the chair. People who are elected must show that they are there not for their own children but for all the children or for the needs of special privileges.
The formed committee must work. In this aspect, we mean that it must run programs as guided by the constitution. Before running any program it is good that the input from the school is obtained. Nothing in the law says that the PIBG cannot run any programs that is not approved by the school. Approval of the school in not necessary but is a matter of courtesy. PIBG can also run program outside the school for children. The basic is, they can do anything under the sun that is inline with their PIBG constitution and not going against the various Education regulation. To run any organization, be it PIBG or others, the committee members must understand the their constitution, their powers and their roles.
A successful committee must work together as a team. It is indeed a very sad state of affair when we found that most PIBG are divided. This happen because certain Exco's members wants to be in the good books of the school head and hoping to get special privileges. Usually there will be two teams, one that is aligned to the school head and the other that is against. A mature and respectable school head must understand its role of impartiality. He must not take side in the committee. He must work with the elected team, whoever they may be. He/She must not divide and rule. For the best interest of the PIBG, the school head must not get involved in the politicking of the PIBG. The members themselves need to shoulder some blame. Parents themselves don't understand what PIBG stands for. It does not understand the purpose and role of the committee. They should vote the working team and not the team that is being promoted by the school head who shows bias. If your school head is aligned to certain group and and do not behave professionally during meetings then you can advice him or her. If advice doesn't work than you vote the opposing team during the AGM. That will put the school head in a proper place.
Effective financial management is important to any successful organization. Never spent beyond the capabilities of the organization. In an NGO like PIBG, there is no need to collect money more than what you can spend. Some PIBG is so proud that they manage to collect hundreds of thousand and keep their money in FD's. This should not be the case. With proper planning, members don't have to be burden and benefits is to be extended to the children. PIBG monies must be spend for the benefit of the children.
Recently I had the opportunity to visit a primary school, where the the PIBG is not run by a committee but solely by the YDP. The PIBG built shaded car parks for teachers. Why? This is not inline with the PIBG activities. The same school also built a up market cyber cafe corner with high end finish (almost to the standard of star bucks) and wireless environment. For what? The children don't carry notebook to school. Who uses this wireless environment? Out of 1000 students how many of them actually uses them. In the end of it became a showcase school as an example to foreign visitors. Beautiful infrastructure is indeed a welcome site and if you unlimited resources, you can built a replica of KLCC in the school compound using high technology materials. But we need to ask simple basic questions - is it worthwhile and beneficial for the children as listed in the PIBG constitution. What kind of direct impact does it have on the children. What is the cost benefit ratio. The finance of the PIBG belongs to the PIBG and not to the school. The school cannot simply decide on how the money is going to be spent. The PIBG committee must decide. The YDP must play his role. He or she must understand the rules and regulations and lead his team.
Many PIBG has very weak financial management system in place. There is no documented procedure for application, approval, spending authorities and limits and no proper documented paper trail. Audit is also equally very weak. This creates a lot of problem for a lot of people. It may create transparency issue. Many PIBG committee do not wants to share what was discussed during meetings with its members. They feel, the members do not have rights to the minutes of meeting. This is wrong, what ever the committee decides it must be be made known to all members. There is no need to hide information from members. After all we are all equals.
My observation also shown that the Ministry or the Education Department needs to conduct program about PIBG to school heads and the school PIBG committee. The objective of PIBG needs to be realigned to meet the challenge of the 21st century. The PIBG objectives must be expanded to include maintaining members database and promoting parents involvements in the organization. At the moment, officially resources cannot be used for this purpose. Training must be given to office bearers. The government needs to play its role, maybe by providing matching grants for every dollar the PIBG collect and spent for the children. The independence of the PIBG is important to ensure that the integrity of the organization is protected.
Dengan izin, saya ingin berkongsi satu pandangan yang saya jumpa dalam internet. http://rights2write.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/successful-pibg-secret-recipe/
Saya baca 3x untuk memahami tulisan nya. Ada yang seiring dengan pemikiran saya dan ada yang keterlaluan. Apa pun ini adalah pandangan penulis dan kita sebagai AJK PIBG perlu juga tahu apa orang lain kata mengenai PIBG....
Here is the article...
Successful PIBG secret recipe
A few days ago, I got a call from a total stranger after reading my write-up in MT. She claims to be a parent from one of the school in Selangor and the parents there faces a big problem in managing the PIBG. After talking to me, she asked me whether I could do a write-up on what is the best recipe in making a PIBG a healthy environment for all stake holders in school.
After spending a few days thinking what I should write, I find that there is no universal recipes that can be applied. Like a bowl of mee curry, the recipe of agood mee curry varies from one state to the other. The same applies to the PIBG. The only common thing is probably the noodles. The various cook need to blend their own based materials to ensure a taste that is acceptable to the person that taste it. The successful PIBG needs to take into account the local environment to blend the various raw materials to have the produce the best mee curry. Having said that, there are some basic principles that we need to understand to make the PIBG tick.
As the name applies, PIBG members consist of parents and teachers. In this association both the parents and teachers stand together at the same height. No one is higher than the other. You can have a PhD for that matter or being a corporate leader (or being a Tan Sri etc) and the teacher can be just a Diploma holder but in a PIBG we are all equals. Being equals means that we have equal voice. Being equal means that we don't look down on others or expecting people to look up upon you. It is a place where we can joke, lough and make fun without prejudice.Being equals means that we can sit down and make rational decision for the benefit and to meet the PIBG objectives.
In many PIBG that I have seen, there are several malady that I see. On paper, the committee consist of parents and teacher. In reality the organization is run by the school i.e. the HM's. The YDP comes and do opening ceremonies. The YDP and the treasurer just sign away monies as requested by the school. The exco rarely meets and when they do meet, it is just a matter of formality. During meeting it always a one way communication between the school head and the rest of the committee and the role of the YDP is limited to being the chairperson of that meeting. This is a serious illnesses. It is cancerous and dangerous. This is wrong.
As in line with the PIBG constitution the children is our focus. The PIBG role is so clearly define by its constitution. It's function is not to run the school or to maintain the school infrastructure. As parents and teachers we all must understand that the PIBG is a self regulatory organization that is independent of the school. The PIBG independence is the main thrust. If there is a clear instructions that PIBG cannot interfere with the school administrations, similarly the Registrar of Schools must come out and document in writing that school head as administrator cannot interfere in the running of the PIBG. The role of the school head is already well defined i.e. as an advisor. Many school head does not realized the scope of being an "advisor". Being an advisor is different from being the head of the PIBG. The YDP and the committee consults and seek advice from the school head on issues related to regulations and meeting student needs. He does not report to the school head nor does he must toe what the school head says. They must play their respective role and find a win win situation that benefits the children.
Both the parent and teachers must play a greater role in the PIBG. Parents and teacher must have the freedom to vote according to the people that they think can run the organization. In many case we see that the teachers has been instructed by the school head that they should vote according to instruction of the school head. The person that is elected are usually a Dato or Datin or a YB or a person that the HM's is comfortable with. As I had mention in the initial part of this write-up, ranks, titles and your relationship and position with VIP's are not important. Members (parents and teachers) must vote according to their free will and they must vote the people who can run the organization and not the person that warms up the chair. People who are elected must show that they are there not for their own children but for all the children or for the needs of special privileges.
The formed committee must work. In this aspect, we mean that it must run programs as guided by the constitution. Before running any program it is good that the input from the school is obtained. Nothing in the law says that the PIBG cannot run any programs that is not approved by the school. Approval of the school in not necessary but is a matter of courtesy. PIBG can also run program outside the school for children. The basic is, they can do anything under the sun that is inline with their PIBG constitution and not going against the various Education regulation. To run any organization, be it PIBG or others, the committee members must understand the their constitution, their powers and their roles.
A successful committee must work together as a team. It is indeed a very sad state of affair when we found that most PIBG are divided. This happen because certain Exco's members wants to be in the good books of the school head and hoping to get special privileges. Usually there will be two teams, one that is aligned to the school head and the other that is against. A mature and respectable school head must understand its role of impartiality. He must not take side in the committee. He must work with the elected team, whoever they may be. He/She must not divide and rule. For the best interest of the PIBG, the school head must not get involved in the politicking of the PIBG. The members themselves need to shoulder some blame. Parents themselves don't understand what PIBG stands for. It does not understand the purpose and role of the committee. They should vote the working team and not the team that is being promoted by the school head who shows bias. If your school head is aligned to certain group and and do not behave professionally during meetings then you can advice him or her. If advice doesn't work than you vote the opposing team during the AGM. That will put the school head in a proper place.
Effective financial management is important to any successful organization. Never spent beyond the capabilities of the organization. In an NGO like PIBG, there is no need to collect money more than what you can spend. Some PIBG is so proud that they manage to collect hundreds of thousand and keep their money in FD's. This should not be the case. With proper planning, members don't have to be burden and benefits is to be extended to the children. PIBG monies must be spend for the benefit of the children.
Recently I had the opportunity to visit a primary school, where the the PIBG is not run by a committee but solely by the YDP. The PIBG built shaded car parks for teachers. Why? This is not inline with the PIBG activities. The same school also built a up market cyber cafe corner with high end finish (almost to the standard of star bucks) and wireless environment. For what? The children don't carry notebook to school. Who uses this wireless environment? Out of 1000 students how many of them actually uses them. In the end of it became a showcase school as an example to foreign visitors. Beautiful infrastructure is indeed a welcome site and if you unlimited resources, you can built a replica of KLCC in the school compound using high technology materials. But we need to ask simple basic questions - is it worthwhile and beneficial for the children as listed in the PIBG constitution. What kind of direct impact does it have on the children. What is the cost benefit ratio. The finance of the PIBG belongs to the PIBG and not to the school. The school cannot simply decide on how the money is going to be spent. The PIBG committee must decide. The YDP must play his role. He or she must understand the rules and regulations and lead his team.
Many PIBG has very weak financial management system in place. There is no documented procedure for application, approval, spending authorities and limits and no proper documented paper trail. Audit is also equally very weak. This creates a lot of problem for a lot of people. It may create transparency issue. Many PIBG committee do not wants to share what was discussed during meetings with its members. They feel, the members do not have rights to the minutes of meeting. This is wrong, what ever the committee decides it must be be made known to all members. There is no need to hide information from members. After all we are all equals.
My observation also shown that the Ministry or the Education Department needs to conduct program about PIBG to school heads and the school PIBG committee. The objective of PIBG needs to be realigned to meet the challenge of the 21st century. The PIBG objectives must be expanded to include maintaining members database and promoting parents involvements in the organization. At the moment, officially resources cannot be used for this purpose. Training must be given to office bearers. The government needs to play its role, maybe by providing matching grants for every dollar the PIBG collect and spent for the children. The independence of the PIBG is important to ensure that the integrity of the organization is protected.
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