LETTER | Over the years, we have heard and read many alarming news reports about the deteriorating education standards in our public schools. From overly zealous religious principle, teachers who are MIA, to teachers who tell lewd and disturbing jokes in class.

Although it is unfair to tar all teachers based on a few anecdotes, one suspects it may just be the tip of an iceberg. There are several reasons why people would come to that conclusion.

First of all, the teachers in question were never fired or reprimanded. At most, they were transferred to another school. This tells us the authority although may not have aided and abetted but certainly covered up the crime. Sweeping it under the proverbial carpet is their modus operandi.

Secondly, these teachers were the product of the previous generation of the education system. One wonders how many such teachers did it produce. This proves what we suspected all along. Getting a good grade in moral or religious studies does not translate to real-life practice, as amply demonstrated by the said teacher. Another shining example of our failed education policy.

Thirdly, one bad apple can negate all the efforts by other good teachers as children see their teachers’ actions do not match their speech. Children also learn the wrong lessons from inaction and lack of accountability from the authority.

Finally, only a tiny fraction of the victims actually come forward and name and shame their tormenter. Most stay silent for fear of reprisal, thus further emboldening the perpetrator and other would-be tormenters. And so the deterioration of education and moral standards get passed on to the next generation.

Although no school types were named, most readers would associate it with our national schools and the prestigious Mara colleges. If you detected a faint rotting smell but otherwise the fish looks good on the outside, would you still buy it? Would parents want to send their children to national schools if they have a choice?

Now we are beginning to realise the true value of vernacular schools. An increasing number of Malay parents are sending their children to vernacular schools.

If the vernacular schools were abolished, as many of the Malay supremacists seem to think it is a prerequisite for unifying the country, then parents would be trapped within a rotting national school system. The alternative is to fork out huge tuition fees to send their children to private schools.

The vernacular schools are our backup education system. Many things a functioning government should provide but ours failed to do. The people have been setting up an alternative backup system, from education to private security firms to charity work to progressive political narratives.

In GE14, the people delivered an incredible mandate to the new Pakatan Harapan government. It was as much a repudiation of the previous corrupt government as an endorsement of the new progressive-minded government stated in their manifesto.

But no sooner than assuming power, the Harapan government started to back-track. One by one, the promises were broken. In the end, whether they were daring or not, they were unceremoniously replaced and squandered a golden opportunity. Had they went out with a bang, at least they would have been respected.

The people were betrayed by Harapan, Harapan was betrayed by Dr Mahathir Mohamad who in turn was betrayed by his own party and some PKR members. In this double, triple and even quadruple betrayal, people are justified in being cynical.

I am more optimistic about the Malaysian people. That window of optimism may be narrowing as more and more deadwood piles up in the political, judicial, legislature, law enforcement, financial, education and health systems.

It is only a matter of time before the government puts a syariah seal on national schools and brands vernacular schools as non-halal.

It took two generations of deterioration for us to sink into this morass. It will take at least the same amount of time for us to dig ourselves out of it.

Harapan was guilty of being too timid. The vernacular schools did not survive many decades of benign neglect and outright hostilities by being timid. The leaders in Harapan should learn a thing or two from the educationists who fought for the survival of the vernacular schools at the cost of being branded as extremists and their citizenships. Their sacrifice has now become our salvation.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.