An Education System Worthy of Malaysia #34
Chapter 5: A Look At Other Systems (Cont’d)
Brazil’s Bolsa Escola
Brazil, like many developing countries, has appalling rural poverty, child labor, and school dropout rates. Bolsa Escola (School Bursary Program) was started in 1995 to overcome these problems by paying poor families to keep their children in school. The theoretical and intellectual underpinning of this bold social engineering program was provided by the American Nobel laureate in economics, Gary Becker, who advocated that investments in human capital is just as valid and can be as productive as investments in physical infrastructures.
Poor parents of pupils of ages 7-14 are paid if they keep their children in school. These parents are given a monthly income equivalent to the prevailing wage for one year. This would continue monthly thereafter only if all their children attend school for over 90 percent of the time in the previous month. Most of the beneficiaries are families headed by single mothers.
The immediate results were impressive and went beyond merely improved school attendance. In one study there was a remarkable drop (by 36 percent) in child employment rate and a significant drop in street children. But most spectacular was the reduction in school dropout rates. Control districts (that is, comparable areas not under the program) had dropout rates of about 7.4 percent; in subsidized areas, a stunning under 0.4 percent–a near 20-fold difference.
The program has since been refined with payments dependent on the number of school-age children, and reduced proportionately when only one child is missing school rather than the previous all-or-none rule. Some programs also incorporate nutrition and health care. Further, the minimum number of years of support is now two instead of one, and the period extended to a maximum of eight years. These families are further encouraged to be involved in the school.
The World Bank studied this program and offers some useful lessons. One is the careful selection of candidates so as not to miss those most deserving. Two, the selection criteria must be objective and transparent, and understood by all, especially the local bureaucrats and citizens. Most importantly, the program should not be tied to any political party or be used as a tool to curry citizens’ political favors or votes. Brazil’s program is also highly decentralized, as only the government entity closest to the people can best know who are the most needy.
The Bank is sufficiently impressed with the program to fund its expansion. The Bank also notes other equally significant accompanying benefits besides increased educational achievements, like reduction of poverty and child labor. It suggests further refinements, for example, to base payments on the number of children and not just school-age children. The Bank reiterates the importance of decentralization and local control to avoid leakage, that is, missing those deserving. At the same time the Bank cautions that these programs should not be at the expense of basic investments in schools. There is no point in giving grants to families and then have no money left over for improving schools or providing for teachers.
The program is currently being replicated elsewhere in Latin America with equally impressive results. Mexico has the comparable and equally successful Progressa program.
Another innovation of Bolsa Escola is that recipients are now given ATM cards so they can collect their money without having to face the local petty bureaucrats, thus eliminating a potential source of corruption. This also introduces the recipients to the modern concepts of banks and ATM cards.
I recommend a Malaysian variation of Bolsa Escola for the poorest areas. The decision as to who would qualify should rest with those who know the students and their parents well – the teachers. Further, I would restrict the payments only to children attending secular and not religious schools. I would also expand the social experiment by introducing other subsidy models and then evaluate to see which ones work best. In some districts I would improve the physical facilities by providing air-conditioned classrooms, single session, and extended school day, in others by providing nutritious meals. One of these interventions might well be just the right ticket to keep our poor children in school.
* * * * *
The examples cited here all offer some relevant lessons for Malaysia. My reform proposals incorporate some elements from each of these, modifying them to suit Malaysian conditions. Before I get to the specifics, I will first critique past and present attempts at reform. The next chapter will also review recent reforms in other countries for lessons that would be of relevance to Malaysia.
Next: Chapter 6: Attempts At Reform
September 13th, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Dear MBM,
Wow,You really opened up my eyes to many goodeeds that average person can do to contribute to the society …My Salute to Brazilian people and come to think of it, I only knew them from Ronaldinho and Kaka!!
We have similar problems ,though not related to education ,became a real burden to the society especially in kg..Nobody intersted in it as there is no financial benefit to anyone ,therefore UMNO members just ignore the problem,nevertheless its a time bomb yet nobody doing anything about it.
Twenty years ago in antenatal clinic (pregnant mother checkup) ,on routine blood test ,once in a blue moon you will get a young mother with VDRL positve.As it signify that the couple has been exposed to veneral diseases ,both need to be given injections to cure them and not to endanger the infant during gestation period.Needles to say convincing and forcing the perpetrator(husbands)to come fwd for treatments was not an easy matter.
As for now ,the antenatal clinic visits and subsequent blood test would revealed 4 to 5 cases of HIV positive in young expectant mothers everymonth.Thus by the end of pregnancy ,in worst case scenario ,there will be 15 HIV patients.And we are talking about a kg of 20 000 population!!
Handling addicts is not easy ,make worse by singers (Jamal Abdillah,Saleem)they idolised were regular students in ‘Pusat Serenti’…infact pusat serenti hairdo look (Mawi mania) is very fashionable now.
Anyone care to contribute ideas along the same line of Brazillian model in this unrelenting predicament of ours?
September 14th, 2006 at 12:56 am
Dr Bakri
Knowing UMNO, your suggestion if adopted will be implemented thru KKKM another useless UMNO brainchild and just like the Wang Ehsan the funds will be chanelled to UMNO members only. All these hidden agenda and specail purpose committee will allow for abuse and funds not getting to the right receipient. 10-4
September 14th, 2006 at 6:17 am
Even in developed economy like Britain, financial support of similar concept is available in UK based on NEED. The difference of the financial payout called EMA (Education Maintainence Assistance) is available to those in Year 12 and 13 (ie. Form 6) and given direct to the student concerned if their parents income is less than a certain threshold.
The condition attached to the handout is subjected to attendence record and gives further incentive if the student performance meet certain target.
If such a system or similar system is implemented in Malayisa, we are likely to see the system based on race and the likely beneficiaries are those with connections and the shenanigan awards to few deserving students as token.
Remember, millions if not billions of ringgits had already been spent to uplift the status of Bumiputras via education. What have we achieved so far?
Sorry for such a pessimistic view. After all, if our leaders are into corruptions without checks and balances what hope is there for the betterment of the society at large. Basically, we need to reform our political system especially UMNO and if that can be done hopefully everything will fall into place.
September 14th, 2006 at 9:31 am
We may have the noblest of aims but along the way some smart alex from the ruling party or the education minister himself would make a mess of the programme making aids a convenient political tool. Those who support the Opposition or are critcal of the government will not qualify even if their incomes are below poverty line.
The welfare of the poor is not their concern and it has been that way ever since. Even in the 60s scholarships and bursaries came with strings attached.
My classmate, whose father was a PAS (PMIP then) supporter, was excluded although he was an ace student who had to cycle 20 miles daily to school and back. His parents were poor padi farmers living in Tg Piandang.
Political gerrymandering has been perfected to an art by the ruling elite. So, what are we left with? Crumps.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
A good example is the recent case involving Ong Tee Keat the deputy higher education minister. He pointed out a wrongdoing whereby a chinese school got billed for RM30,000 for a RM3,000 job and a badly done one at that. Instead of kudos he was reprimanded by no less than the DPM and the education minister. Very obviously the action by these UMNOputras are seen to be condoning wrongdoings and protecting wrongdoers who could have come from their party.
If our leaders have such a mindset I doubt very much the type of schemes proposed by Dr Bakri will ever succeed. In this country, as far as the ruling elite are concerned the interest of their party and members come first followed by race, religion and the bumi dichotomy. The rest of the people can leave the country if they don’t like it here.
September 15th, 2006 at 3:01 am
We can put forward all the successful implemented projects around the world to Msia Bolehland.
The ministers/ministries might agree to it if there are potential ‘untung’.
It does not matter whether those projects are suitable to Bolehland or not.
If the projects will benefit the rakyat jelata but no potential ‘untung’ to whom it may concerned, it will be in the waste basket in no time.
I agree, in Bolehland to get aid(subsidy too) you must be an UMNO member or you are not identified as a person who agree with the oppositions.
The Wang Ehsan in Penyuland is a classic example.Clark gable should know coz he loves the ‘kepok lekor’ so much.
In Bolehland what powers the YBs/Ketua Bahagian/JKKK is the Ringgit sign.
I remeber M.Nasir used to sing: ” Duit,duit dimana kau duit!”
Maybe UMNO members can use this as their new party anthenm.
September 15th, 2006 at 8:58 pm
Dear MBM,Ayub TLKG and Jan,
Ong Tee Keat was right in pointing this out,Salute you Mr Ong….as usual people were directed to use proper channel,alas,the proper channel would bury this issue in the heaps of thing and relegated to dustbin as Ayub Tulakang pointed out.Dont kill the messenger,read the message and act on it no matter how painful ,deal with messenger at your own time.
When it come to toeing the line ,disagrreing with boss,acting against the grain the action was swift and decisive,as everyone jealously guarding their territory..even the messenger would be killed thus much less would be expected coming from Mr Ong from now on.He would be reprimanded severely and the issue became secondary matter.
Thats why when SVellu did blunder in MRR overpass constructions,no one dare to challenge him …we are expected to believe the ’severe whether condition’localise within the stretch of road in Kepong is the cause of sagging overhead highway less than 2 years after construction…RM40 in repair job(most probably more if am not mistaken) was again obtained to cover the defect.Reports about the construction failure were confidential ,guarded with SV life .Even Malaysian Engineers Assoc. dare not say go against SV as they would be identified and blacklisted fr future projects.
So what is RM27 000 for it to be discussed using proper channel.Dont expect anything to come out of these overcharging and clear abuse of public money.
September 15th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
That is the very reason why we must have laws to protect whistleblowers. But when the blowing is done on Umnoputras and their “kuncus” how on earth will such laws be enacted.
You get to see the same faces on national tv, always smiling and always saying this and that, as if we are all idiots. Don’t they have a conscience?
Will this charade ever end? Search me. May be God is being too nice.
September 16th, 2006 at 10:07 am
Sdr Fathol Zaman,
And that is also the very reason we must support Dr M, not so much for he, himself, but for his crusades. It seems that he’s the only one person in Malaysia for the time being that can inflict some damages to the smiling faces on national tv.
September 16th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
It sure was a grrreat relief for the smiling faces on national tv, when news of Mahathir’s defeat at Kupang Pasu was sent out via sms, otherwise today they would be shitting bricks, and finding ways to seek his forgiveness or claim they had been misquoted by the media all along!
But it will be a great mistake if they are celebrating now. Knowing Mahathir he will not let them go that easily. War has been declared and this is only the beginning!
September 16th, 2006 at 7:38 pm
Dear all,
I’m a Malaysian student studying economics in Singapore and i’d like to give my 2 cents on this as it is a relatively common practice around the world and has certain implications that I want to share with everyone.
1) People respond to incentives. Our poor brethren(regardless of race) in the kgs and plantations send their children to work because, to the parents, the returns from their children working outweigh the returns from schooling.
If we can construct a system of incentives that persuades the poor parents of children to send their children to school, we would have done our country a great service. This system need not be strictly about money. Parents who fulfill the criteria may be given interest-free entrepreneurship loans, food vouchers with a certain value (eg RM100) to purchase only food items from associated supermarkets. Surely loans and food vouchers and the afore-mentioned ATM cards are less attractive to corrupt party cadres than shiny new cash, which we will not give to them.
2) It is a misconception that more educaton necessarily leads to higher economic growth, leading to higher living standards. From the 1950s-1980s, the average African country had more children with priimary education than countries in Asia, and even Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea only had schooling rates equivalent to or less than the most “educated”(Primary level) African country. This fact it borne out by the high unemployment rate among our university grads.
I think the sort of education provided as well as the quality is much more important that merely ensuring high levels of school enrolment. It is much more fruitful to the economy that we have 100 brilliant engineers than 200 Sastera majors( my apologies to the writers among us) who need extensive retraining on the job to become productive workers. Thus, perhaps the Higher Education Ministry would consider slashing university places so that competition for places is higher and more funds are available to teach and guide each precious student to be their best in each of their fields.( so even Sastera majors would be the best our country has to offer, make sense?)
It is pointless to point fingers (does that make sense?) at sundry individuals, be they scoundrel politicians or lazy civil servants for the ills that plague our society. Much better for us all if we criticise them but come up with our own solution and persuade/cajole/compel our listless leaders to serve the citizens.
September 26th, 2006 at 2:27 am
as long as there is corruption, it will be difficult to implement a lot of things. it doesn’t matter what race you are from, as long as you are not in the elite group, it can be rather difficult.