Yayasan myNadi

Issues affecting the vernacular schools are often raised by both the Indian and Chinese communities.

These schools are usually not fully funded by the Government and as such, they depend on private funds sourced by the parents and teachers association (PTA or PIBG) to maintain their buildings and facilities. 

Most Tamil primary schools started as schools located within estates to serve the needs of the children of the estate workers. Most of these schools are partly aided schools where funds for the maintenance of the infrastructure is based on funds raised by the PTA (Parents and Teachers Association, also known as the PIBG, Persatuan Ibu-bapa dan Guru).

When the estates are sold to property developers who no longer choose to continue operating the estates, the estate workers are unemployed and most families either leave or are relocated, resulting in a drop in the enrolment, and the PTA is correspondingly unable to raise sufficient funds to maintain the school.

Many of these schools are in a state of disrepair and lack basic facilities; the classrooms, canteens and toilets need urgent upgrading and these plights are highlighted almost daily in the Tamil media. An unconducive school environment usually results in poor motivation of both the students and teachers.