An estimated 300,000 marginalised children in Sabah lack access to formal education, forcing many onto the streets and into vulnerable situations. Alternative learning centres...
‘Is it a crime to teach them?’: Why educators strive to keep Sabah’s ‘alternative schools’ for stateless kids open‘Is it a crime to teach them?’: Why educators strive to keep Sabah’s ‘alternative schools’ for stateless kids open
KOTA KINABALU, Feb 28 — In Sabah, it is estimated that there are around 300,000 marginalised children — oftentimes stereotyped as “rowdy street kids” guilty of begging, sniffing glue or just being generally raucous. “We were threatened with closure multiple times. I asked, ‘Is it a crime to provide education to children?’” Chin related.
A 2002 amendment to the Education Act 1996 restricted government school enrolment to children with valid documentation, leaving many stateless and undocumented children without access to formal education. “Their families cannot afford textbooks, uniforms, or transportation. Additionally, these children often feel ostracised and eventually drop out,” said Kathryn Rivai, founder of Etania Schools.
Baltazar said several ALCs have been closed in the interior district of Keningau, while the Iskul Sama DiLaut Omadal in Semporna, which served Bajau Laut children, was also temporarily closed before following complaints from local business owners.
Stateless Children Undocumented Migrants
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