PENANG: After Taiping Member of Parliament Wong Kah Woh takes over as Deputy Education Minister, the United Chinese School Teachers’ Association (Jiao Zong) President Cheah Lek Aee hopes he will have a stronger resolve in handling matters related to Chinese education in the country, including rectifying the education ministry’s inappropriate measures on Chinese education.

Cheah said Chinese education problems would never be solved if the country’s monolingual education policy remains unchanged, as ministry officials will draw up education policies and plans based on the national education policy which may not take into account the country’s multi-stream education reality.

“As such, the deputy minister plays a very important role here, especially in working closely with local Chinese education bodies to gain a better understanding of the problems faced by Chinese education.

“He must be firm, and must harness his power to address the many issues on Chinese education prudently. He must also ensure that ministry officials draw up policies with an open mind to fairly cater to the needs of all communities.”

Cheah told Sin Chew Daily the deputy minister must strive to strike a common understanding with the education minister so that this could be carried out smoothly.

He hoped deputy minister Wong would regularly keep in touch with Dong Jiao Zong in an attempt to resolve the many chronic problems faced by Chinese education, including the perennial teacher shortage problem as well as construction and relocation of Chinese primary schools.